Kapok Tree

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/kapok-tree

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. How tall is Kapok Tree?Can exceed 60 meters (approx. 200 feet)
2. What is the scientific name?Ceiba pentandra
3. What is the habitat?Lowland tropical rainforests across the Americas, West Africa, and Southeast Asia
4. How does a Kapok tree help animals?Its huge branches and many leaves create homes for birds, insects, and even monkeys, while its flowers give nectar to bats and insects.
5. Where can you find a Kapok tree?Kapok trees grow in tropical rainforests of the Neotropics, West Africa, and Southeast Asia.

Keystone Species: A species that has a disproportionately large effect on its environment relative to its abundance.
Epiphytes: Plants that grow on other plants but do not parasitize them, deriving moisture and nutrients from the air and rain.
Anemochory: The dispersal of seeds or spores by wind.
Dehiscent: Splitting open naturally when ripe to release seeds or fruit.