Silk Cotton tree (Ceiba ‘ pentandr a
Gaertn.) is a fast-growing deciduous species
of family Batnbacaceae, growing to a height
of 25 m to 30 m with a diameter of 1.5 m
to 1.8 m. It occurs mainly in the tropics,
where it is a component of secondary
forest. The tree has been introduced from
Burma to the Southern part of Chittagong.
In the villages of Chittagong, it is often
planted for its fruit. The fruit gives
silk cotton (floss) which is the true ‘Kapok’
of commerce. This floss is superior in
quality than that obtained from the fruit
of Simul (Bombax Spp.) (Gamble 1972).
Being elastic, the floss is mostly used for
filling and stuffing cushions, pillows,
mattresses and saddles. As it is light
and impervious to water, the floss
is eminently suitable for use in life

Rubber tree, Hevea brasiliensis Muel-
Arg. is indigenous to Brazil. It yields latex
which is commercially the most important
source of natural rubber (NR). It was
first introduced in Bangladesh in the year
1970 in tea gardens. The commercial
introduction of this species was done by
Bangladesh Forest Industries Development
Corporation (BFIDC) in 1962. Since then
an area of 5512 ha in eight different estates
of Chittagong and Sylhet has been covered
with rubber plantation, mostly on unproductive
waste land and scrub forest land.
It has been decided to raise 24280 ha of
plantation to achieve self-sufficiency in
rubber in the country. Of this 19187 ha
would be raised in the public sector and
the rest private participation
(Amin 1977, Hussein 1982).