The kapok for cotton substitute

The kapok tree bears fruit like a slim avocado that is usually mistaken for an edible fruit. When the tree is full of fruits, it has less leaves so the fruits are very visible and tempting for the kids to harvest. But when they slice the fruit, what they see is the cotton-like material inside and the seeds.

The kapok is a wild tree that somehow got to the city. The young fruits are relished by bats at night so maybe the bats were the one that scattered the seeds of the kapok. In the olden days, the mattress is usually soft with the kapok cotton inside. That is the alternative to the real cotton which was quite expensive. But now cotton is the primary material for mattress and pillows as well so the kapok may have lost its glory.