''Magnolia champaca'', known in English as champak (), is a large evergreen tree in the family

Magnoliaceae The Magnoliaceae () are a flowering plant family, the magnolia family, in the order Magnoliales. It consists of two genera: ''Magnolia'' and ''Liriodendron'' (tulip trees). Unlike most angiosperms, whose flower parts are in whorls (rings), th ...

.efloras.org: Flora of China treatment of ''Michelia (Magnolia) champaca''
accessed 7.12.2015 It was previously classified as ''Michelia champaca''. It is known for its fragrant flowers, and its timber used in woodworking.

Etymology

The species epithet, ''champaca'', comes from the Sanskrit word ().

Vernacular names

Other vernacular names in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

include joy perfume tree, Pacific Horticulture Society: "Striving for Diversity: Fragrant Champaca"
. accessed 7.12.2015 yellow jade orchid tree and fragrant Himalayan champaca.

Distribution and habitat

The tree is native to the Indomalayan realm, consisting of South Asia, Southeast Asia−Indochina, and southern China. It is found in

Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Description TSMF is generally found in large, disco ...

ecoregions, at elevations of . It is native to Maldives, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam. In China it is native to southern

Xizang The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China in Southwest China. It was overlayed on the traditional Tibetan regions of � ...

and southern and southwestern

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...

Provinces. efloras.org: Annotated Checklist of the Flowering Plants of Nepal − ''Michelia (Magnolia) champaca''
/ref> In 2021, an isolated, presumably native population of ''M. champaca'' was identified in

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast an ...

, making ''M. champaca'' the only species in the

known to inhabit the Arabian Peninsula.

Description

In its native range ''Magnolia champaca'' grows to or taller. Its trunk can be up to in diameter. The tree has a narrow umbelliform

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

. It has strongly fragrant flowers in varying shades of cream to yellow-orange which bloom during June to September. The obovoid-ellipsoid

carpel Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) '' pistils' ...

s produce 2−4 seeds during September to October. Inflorescence of Champak flower

Varieties—hybrids

''Magnolia champaca'' varieties and

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two diff ...

s include: *''Magnolia (Michelia) champaca'' var. ''champaca'' — ''Huang lan (yuan bian zhong)'', (黄兰(原变种)) in Chinese. To tall, documented in China. *''Magnolia (Michelia) champaca'' var. ''pubinervia'' — ''Mao ye mai huang lan'' (毛叶脉黄兰) in Chinese. To tall or taller, documented in China. * ''Magnolia'' × ''alba'' — white-flowered hybrid of ''Magnolia champaca'' and '' Magnolia montana''. In Thailand, there are other purported hybrids cultivated with other species, including with ''

Magnolia liliifera ''Magnolia liliifera'', commonly known as egg magnolia, is a flowering tree native to the Indomalayan realm.GRIN lists the species is native to the following regions: China (Southern), Indian Subcontinent, North Indian Ocean, Indochina. It bear ...

'' and '' Magnolia coco''.

Cultural aspects

Theravada Buddhism ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...

, champaca is said to have been used as the tree for achieving enlightenment, or Bodhi, by the fourteenth

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in ...

called "Aththadassi - අත්ථදස්සි". According to Tibetan beliefs, the Buddha of the next era will find enlightenment under the white flower canopy of the champaca tree.Monrovia Nurseries database: ''Michelia champaca'' (Fragrant Himalayan Champaca)
. accessed 7.12.2015

Uses

Fragrance

The flowers are used in South Asia for several purposes. Especially in India, they are primarily used for worship at temples, whether at home or out, and more generally worn in hair by girls and women as a means of beauty ornament as well as a natural perfume. Flowers are floated in bowls of water to scent the room, as a fragrant decoration for bridal beds, and for garlands. "''Magnolia champaca,'' however, is more rare and has a strong perfume, and is not that commonly or plentifully used - for example in hair it is worn singly or as a small corsage but rarely as a whole garland, and for bridal beds it is most often jasmine and roses while for bowls of water to be placed around rooms usually other, more colourful for visual decoration and less strongly perfumed flowers are used." The tree was traditionally used to make fragrant hair and massage oils.

Jean Patou Jean Patou (; 27 September 1887 – 8 March 1936) was a French fashion designer, and founder of the Jean Patou brand. Early life Patou was born in Paris, France in 1887. Patou's family's business was tanning and furs. Patou worked with his ...

’s famous perfume, ' Joy', the second best selling perfume in the world after

Chanel No. 5 Chanel No. 5 was the first perfume launched by French couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel in 1921. The scent formula for the fragrance was compounded by French-Russian chemist and perfumer Ernest Beaux. The design of its bottle has been an imp ...

, is derived in part from the essential oils of champaca flowers. The vernacular name "Joy perfume tree" comes from this. Many niche perfumers are now once again using Champaca Absolute as single note fragrances. The scent similar to the scent of this plant is said to emit by a

civet A civet () is a small, lean, mostly nocturnal mammal native to tropical Asia and Africa, especially the tropical forests. The term civet applies to over a dozen different species, mostly from the family Viverridae. Most of the species diversit ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, ''

Paradoxurus montanus The golden palm civet (''Paradoxurus zeylonensis'') is a palm civet endemism, endemic to Sri Lanka. It is listed as Vulnerable species, Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Its distribution is severely fragmented, and the extent and quality of its ha ...

''. Because all the other civets are known to emit very unpleasant odours, this species is renowned to emit pleasant odour similar to this plant's scent.

Timber

In its native India and Southeast Asia, champaca is logged for its valuable

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including Beam (structure), beams and plank (wood), planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as fini ...

. It has a finely textured, dark brown and olive-colored wood, which is used in furniture making, construction, and cabinetry. The species is protected from logging in some states of India, especially in the Southwestern region, where certain groves are considered sacred by Hindus and Buddhists.

Cultivation

''Magnolia champaca'' is cultivated by specialty

plant nurseries A nursery is a place where plants are propagated and grown to a desired size. Mostly the plants concerned are for gardening, forestry or conservation biology, rather than agriculture. They include retail nurseries, which sell to the general p ...

as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

, for its form as an ornamental tree, as a dense screening

hedge A hedge or hedgerow is a line of closely spaced shrubs and sometimes trees, planted and trained to form a barrier or to mark the boundary of an area, such as between neighbouring properties. Hedges that are used to separate a road from adjoin ...

, and for its fragrant flowers. It is planted in the ground in tropical and in

subtropical climate The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 35° north a ...

gardens, such as in coastal Southern and Central California. It is planted in containers in cooler temperate climates. It requires full sun and regular watering. The fragrant flowers attract butterflies and

hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics ar ...

s. Its aril-covered seeds are highly attractive to birds.FRISCH, J.D. & FRISCH, C.D. - ''Aves Brasileiras e Plantas que as atraem'', São Paulo, Dalgas Ecotec, 3rd. edition, 2005, , page 374

References

External links

Chittagong University, Bangladesh: ''Michelia champaca'' - detailed information
{{Taxonbar, from=Q167027 champaca Trees of China Flora of tropical Asia Plants described in 1753 Garden plants of Asia Ornamental trees Trees of Nepal Taxa named by Henri Ernest Baillon Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Taxa named by Jean Baptiste Louis Pierre