Scientific Name Bombax ceiba Linn Family Bombacaceae Used Part Flowers Distribution Area Throughout India in forests upto an elevation of about 1500 m also raised in plantations. Common Uses . The flowerbuds and fleshy calyces are eaten; the immature calyx known as semargulla in Uttar Pradesh, is consumed as vegetabe. The flowers are made into a conserve by boiling with the seeds of poppy and sugar in goat's milk. The dried and powdered flowers are made into bread with or without corn. The flowers are eaten by cattle, birds, squirrels and deer. They ae a source of nectar to the honey-bees. The flowers are astringent and cooling. The paste of flowers and also that of leaves, is employed as an application in cutaneos troubles.The young fruits are reported to be employed as expectorant, stimulant and diuretic and are considered beneficial in calculous affections, chronic inflammation and ulceration of the bladder and kidneys. Similar crude drugs A much inferior floss from Calotropis procera (Ait.) Ait. f. is used as an adulterant. Others The floss is suitable for stuffing life-belts and other life-saving appliances besides mattresses, cushions and pillows, upholstery and quilts. Mattresses and cushions stuffed with kapok are considered vermin-proof, as the waxy coating, which gives the kapok its glossy appearance, is, perhaps, repellent to the vermin, The floss is also used as an insulating material for refrigerators and sound-proof covers and walls; it is superior to cotton-wool for packing fragile goods. Since it can be dry-sterilized at 110° without any loss of its properties, it is an excellent material for making padded surgical dressings. Because of the smooth, silky surface and lack of natural axial twist, the floss was considered unsuitable for ordinary textiles, but with suitably modified carding machines, it can now be spun easily into a yarn, which is used for the manufacture of plushes, laces and a few other special articles.