Fruits of Mexico: Kapok, strange fruit growing on even stranger tree

Hi Steemmates!

As my entry for today´s #foodphotography contest hosted by @juliank, I would like to show you another interesting fruit (and tree) that is native to Mexico and some other tropical countries in Latin America and Asia.

This curious fruit is known as kapok and it grows on a tree that goes by several different names such as the ceiba tree, the silk floss tree or just the kapok.

Some ceiba species can reach up to 70 m (230 ft) in height, with massive branchless trunks and huge, spreading umbrella-shaped canopies that are resistant to hurricanes.

The national tree of Guatemala, the ceiba has been considered a sacred tree by the Mayans. Trunks of young ceiba trees are covered with massive thorns and it is believed that the dead ascend by the thorns up to the top of the tree and then further up to the heaven. Therefore, ceibas can often be found around cemeteries.

Once the tree is mature, it starts producing seed pods that resemble avocados in shape and color. So technically, these are actually not fruits but rather seeds, even though it is often referred to as the kapok fruit. The seed oil is edible but it is the puffy white fibers hidden inside the seeds that are the most valued parts of the "fruit" as they are used to fill mattresses, sleeping bags, clothes, saddles etc. The fibers are hypoallergenic and they are the most common mattress filling in all Southeast Asia.

I took all of these photos in the Mexican town of Playa del Carmen on the Riviera Maya.

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