Michelia
champaca
L.
MAGNOLIACEAE
Vernacular names:
Hindi -
Campaka
Kannada - Champaka,
Sampige
Malayalam -
Chempakam,
Pan chempakam
Marathi -
Champa,
Sanachampa
Sanskrit -
Campaka,
Hempuspaka
Tamil -
Shembagam
Telugu - Sampenga, Champakamu
Threat status:
Vulnerable (A 1 c) - KA & TN Lower Risk near
threatened - KL
Habit:
Tree
Habitat:
Wild
populations seen in moist deciduous to evergreen forests'
Altitude:
From sea
level to 1800 m
Distribution: Global:
India,
Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Southwest China to Malaysia
and Java. National:
Tropical and subtropical forests throughout India; often
planted. Regional:
Common in the dense forests of Kerala, less common in Tamil Nadu,
occasional in Karnataka.
Description:
Evergreen trees, growing up to 40 m tall.
Crown
spreading.
Bark about 1 cm thick, smooth and grey with numerous
small pits. Branchlets with many distinct white dot-like
structures called lenticels.
Leaves
alternate,
elliptic, 12-25 x 6-10 cm, base wedge-shaped,
apex
finely long-acuminate, margin entire, shiny and hairless on the
upper surface and minute hairy, especially on the main nerves
beneath; leaf stalks up to 4 cm long.
Flowers
bisexual,
single in leaf axils, 4-5 cm across, dull-yellow when fresh,
becoming orange when old, fragrant, distinctly stalked. The
perianth
segments
are 9 in number, arranged 3 each in 3 rows.
Follicles
occur in
clusters on about 10 cm long fruiting stalks. The matured fruits
are woody, egg-shaped, 1-2 cm long with white speckles,
splitting by two valves. Seeds about 5 in each fruit,
enclosed by fleshy red aril.
Phenology: Flowering & Fruiting:
February to May; June to August
Medicinal
uses:
Roots and leaves are used to treat incontinence of urine,
genital disorders, stomachache, eye diseases and fever. Stem
bark powder made into a decoction cures intermittent fever. The
flowers used to treat fever, white discharge and impotency.
Trade
information: Local and regional. Flower buds are reportedly
traded for extraction of essential oil. The flowers recorded a
price of As. 41.50/Kg. (Kerala, 1993).
Mode of
propagation: By seeds
Special characters:
Heartwood
is light olive-brown. Leaf buds are covered by prominent
sheath-like structures called' stipules'. These are about
3 cm long and densely clothed with golden hairs. Flowers are
sweet smelling and prominent. Flower colour of the cultivated
plants varies from white, cream and yellow.
