Michelia champaca L.
Family
Magnoliaceae
Synonyms
Michelia pubinervia Blume.
Vernacular Names
| Malaysia | Chempaka, chempaka merah (Peninsular), champaka (Sabah) |
| English | Orange champaca, golden champaca |
| Indonesia | Cempaka kuning (general), cempaka (Javanese), campa (Sumatra) |
| Philippines | Champaka, sampaka (Tagalog), champaka-laag (Sulu) |
| Burma (Myanmar) | Laran, mawk-sam-lung, sagah |
| Laos | Champa |
| Thailand | Champa (general), champa-khao, champapa (peninsular) |
| Vietnam | Ng[oj]c lan, hoa sunam |
| French | Champac |
Geographical Distributions
M. champaca probably originated in India, where it is still planted in the grounds of Hindu and Jain temples, and is distributed from India to south-western China, Indo-China, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Java and the Lesser Sunda Islands. It is now commonly cultivated throughout the tropics.
Description
This is a huge forest tree, up to 50 m tall and 1.8 m in trunk diametre, with hairless twigs.
Leaves are spirally-arranged with stipules up to 3(-6.5) cm long, united to the hairy stalk for at least one third of their length. The stalk is 1-4 cm long, hairy, bearing a long scale-like scar. The blade is ovate-Iance-shaped to oblong-Iance-shaped size 10-30 cm x 4-10 cm. The base is rounded to triangular-attenuate while apex is with acumen, 1-2.5 cm long. It is hairy on its underside, especially on the midrib and veins. Brachyblast is 0.5-2.5 cm long, with 2(-3) nodes and densely hairy. The hairy stalk is 0-2 cm long. The bracts are enclosing the flower cluster, hairy, covering the spindle-like, 3-4 cm long flower buds.
Flowers are fragrant, light yellow when young, turning dark orange in maturity. The segment of floral leaves are (12-)15(-20), in several inconspicuous whorls, reverse egg-shaped size 2-4.5 cm long, thin and semi-transparent. The stamens are 6-8 mm long and its connective appendage is 1 mm long. Their fruits are about 30 in a cluster, each with a 3 mm long and densely hairy stalk.
Fruiting (follicles) is free, basally united to the axis or shortly stalked, 3-20 laxly that are arranged in a 6-9 cm long cluster. Fruit is flattened ovoid to slightly spherical size 1.5-3.5 cm x 1-2.5 cm, partially woody, pale brown with white warts containing 2-6 seeds.
Seed is ovoid and red-brown and in open fruit it is hanging on little thin cord that is attached to the placenta.
Ecology / Cultivation
M. champaca occurs in humid tropical evergreen forest or at the edge of forest on deep fertile soils at 250-1500 m altitude. Mean maximum temperature of the hottest month ranges from 35-40oC, the mean minimum temperature of the coldest month from 3-10oC.
Line Drawing / Photograph
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References
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Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 19. 1998.
