In this quick tutorial you'll learn how to draw a Kapok Tree in 3 easy steps - great for kids and novice artists.
The images above represents how your finished drawing is going to look and the steps involved.
Below are the individual steps - you can click on each one for a High Resolution printable PDF version.
At the bottom you can read some interesting facts about the Kapok Tree.
Make sure you also check out any of the hundreds of drawing tutorials grouped by category.
How to Draw a Kapok Tree - Step-by-Step Tutorial
Step 1: First, draw the roots. Draw a few slanted lines very close together. Make sure you draw your slanted lines straight across.
Step 2: Next, draw your trunk. From the top of your very far root, draw a line that slightly curves inward toward the middle. Do the same for the far right root.
Step 3: Lastly, draw the leaves. Draw a large circle of humps around the top of the trunk. Pick a spot inside of the outline of your leaves and draw three thick ovals that connect at the bottom. Continue doing this all over your tree for as many leaves as you want.
Interesting Facts about Kapok Trees
Kapok Trees are native to South America. They are tall and skinny trees that shed their leaves during the dry season. Kapok Trees have compound leaves that grow to about 8 centimeters long. Before the leaves appear though the tree’s flowers bloom. The flowers have 5 petals and are cream or pink colored. Kapok Trees grow to 100 meters tall. Their trunks grow to 3 meters across. Kapok Trees are the giants of the tropical rainforest.
Did you know?
- Kapok Tree flowers stink so they can attract their top pollinator… bats.
- Kapok Trees produce 500 to 4,000 fruits at one time.
- Each fruit has over 200 seeds.
- The trunks of the Kapok Tree have been carved into a canoe.
- Unopened Kapok fruit can float underwater and still be plant able. Botanists think that’s how the Kapok Tree can be found in both South America and Africa.
- Kapok resin and bark have been used to treat dysentery, fever, asthma, and kidney disease.
- Mayan culture believed that the souls of the dead climbed into the Kapok Tree to get to heaven.
Lesson Plan Note: Kapok Trees are a good botany lesson for a week about the Amazon Rainforest. Explore the unique plant life and animals found in the Amazon.
How to Draw a Kapok Tree – Step-by-Step Tutorial