Calophyllum inophyllum

Calophyllum inophyllum
Calophyllum inophyllum flower
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Malpighiales
Family:	Calophyllaceae
Genus:	Calophyllum
Species:	C. inophyllum
Binomial name
Calophyllum inophyllum L.

Calophyllum inophyllum is a large evergreen. It is native from East Africa, southern coastal India to Malesia and Australia.

Distribution and description

Nowadays it is widely cultivated in all tropical regions of the world, including several Pacific Islands. Because of its decorative leaves, fragrant flowers and spreading crown, it is best known as an ornamental plant.

It is a low-branching and slow-growing tree with a broad and irregular crown. It usually reaches 8 to 20 metres (26 to 66 ft) in height. The flower is 25 millimetres (0.98 in) wide and occurs in racemose or paniculate inflorescences consisting of 4 to 15 flowers. Flowering can occur year-round, but usually two distinct flowering periods are observed, in late spring and in late autumn. The fruit (the ballnut) is a round, green drupe reaching 2 to 4 centimetres (0.79 to 1.6 in) in diameter and having a single large seed. When ripe, the fruit is wrinkled and its color varies from yellow to brownish-red.

This tree often grows in coastal regions as well as nearby lowland forests. However it has also been cultivated successfully in inland areas at moderate altitudes. It tolerates varied kinds of soil, coastal sand, clay or even degraded soil.

Names

In Sanskrit this tree is known as punnaga.^[1] Punnai and Ponnaakam are the names for the tree in Tamil, found in Cankam Tamil literature (Kuruntokai 5:2; kurincippaattu 91). Punnai in Tamil and its cognates found in other Dravidian languages such as Punna (Malayalam), Ponne, Honne (Kannada), Ponne (Tulu), and Ponna (Telugu) as names of this tree are listed as words of Dravidian etymology (Dravidian Etymological Dictionary, entry No: 4243). The other name Pun-naakam has come in Tamil because the tree is a small variety of the Naaka tree. Punnaga is not a name of Sanskrit origin and the word is not even found in the Sanskrit dictionary of Monier Williams. Pinnai is a colloquial name for the tree in Tamil. The tree is abundantly found in the coastal stretches of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Sri Lanka and in the Maldives Islands. Many place names in this region have come from the tree. The tree is known as Funa in the Dhivehi language of Maldives and is known as Funaa in the Mahl language of the Minicoy island of the Laccadives. Obviously the terms are cognates of the Dravidian names for the tree in the neighbouring region. Several islands in the Maldives are named after this tree as Funa-dhoo or Fona-dhoo (An Etymological Dictionary of Maldivian Island Names, 2008, P.136). The name of the tree in Elu Sinhala or old Sinhala is Puna (Clough's Sinhala-English Dictionary). In common Sinhala it is known as Domba and there are several species of them such as Tel-domba, Bata-tomba etc. Bats are known to feed on the fruits.

In English this tree is also often called Ballnut or, confusingly, "Alexandrian Laurel" (it is not a laurel nor native to Alexandria and not to be confused with the small shrub Danae racemosa also known as Alexandrian laurel^[2]).

In Tahiti it is called ʻati or tamanu^[3] tree. Several species of the tree grow wild in the tropical climes in the Pacific. In Hawaiʻi, the tree and nuts are called kamani; in Fiji the name is dilo, while it is fetau in both Samoa and Niuē, and in Tonga it is fetaʻu or tamanu^[4]. In Vanuatu, the natives call the oil nambagura.

In Philippines, it is called Bitaog. It is abundant in the coastal areas of Luzon and Palawan islands.

Uses

Besides being a popular ornamental plant, its wood is hard and strong and has been used in construction or boatbuilding. Traditional Pacific Islanders used Calophyllum wood to construct the keel of their canoes while the boat sides were made from breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) wood. The seeds yield a thick, dark green oil for medicinal use or hair grease. Active ingredients in the oil are believed to regenerate tissue, so is sought after by cosmetics manufacturers as an ingredient in skin cremes. The nuts should be well dried before cracking, after which the oil-laden kernel should be further dried. The first neoflavone isolated in 1951 from natural sources was calophyllolide from Calophyllum inophyllum seeds^[5].

The fatty acid methyl ester of Calophyllum inophyllum seed oil meets the major biodiesel requirements in the United States (ASTM D 6751), and European Union (EN 14214). The average oil yield is 11.7 kg-oil/tree or 4680 kg-oil/hectare

The tree is regarded as sacred in some Pacific islands because of its excellent growth in sandy soil as shade tree and many uses.

In the northwest coastal areas of Luzon island in Philippines, the oil was used for night lamps. It creates a relaxing aroma. This widespread use started to decline when kerosene became available, and later on electricity.

It was also used as fuel to generate electricity to provide power for radios during World War II.

References

1. ^ Trees and Their Economic Importance
2. ^ "Shrubs: Danae racemosa". http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/shrubs/danae_racemosa.html. Retrieved 2009-02-16. 
3. ^ The Tahitian tamanu may also refer to the Calophyllum tacamahaca. In fact many references treat the tacamahaca as the same species as the inophyllum.
4. ^ The Tongan tamanu is the Calophyllum vitiensis.
5. ^ Neoflavones. 1. Natural Distribution and Spectral and Biological Properties. M. M. Garazd, Ya. L. Garazd and V. P. Khilya, Chemistry of Natural Compounds, Volume 39, Number 1 / janvier 2003.

• Stevens (1998). Calophyllum inophyllum. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.
• Prospects and potential of fatty acid methyl esters of some non-traditional seed oils for use as biodiesel in India

External links

More information about Tamanu Oil from Tahiti