Sultan Champa / Alexdranian Laurel
Calophyllum inophyllum
Also known as Common Poon, Dilo Oil Tree
- Habit
- Tree
- Found in India
- Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra & more
- Flowering
- March-November
How to identify Sultan Champa
Identify Sultan Champa by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a tree habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Fine parallel leaf veins, coastal tree, oil-yielding seeds.
- Confirm leaf shape: Orbicular (round).
- Confirm flower colour: White.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: March-November.
- In India, compare location records such as Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Clusiaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Sultan Champa.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Calophyllum inophyllum
- Genus
- Calophyllum
- Family
- Clusiaceae
- Habit
- Tree
- Habitat
- Plains, especially towards the coast and cultivated in gardens
- Habitat type
- Coastal, Cultivated
- Native to
- Mozambique, Tropical Asia
- Distribution
- Paleotropics
- Found in India
- Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry, Uttarakhand, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Goa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Telangana
- Flowering & fruiting
- March-November
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (LC)
Leaf characters
- Leaf shape
- Orbicular (round)recorded
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Opposite
Characters marked “recorded” are for Sultan Champa itself; the rest are typical of the Clusiaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Whiterecorded
Typical of the family
- Fruit
- Capsule
Characters marked “recorded” are for Sultan Champa itself; the rest are typical of the Clusiaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- सुलतान चम्पा Sultan Champa, सुरपुन Surpun, punnaga
- Bengali
- পুন্নাগ Punnaga
- Tamil
- நமேரு Nameru, புன்னை Punnai, புருடம் Purutam
- Telugu
- నామేరు Naameru, పొన్న Ponna, పున్నాగ Punnaga
- Kannada
- ಹೊನ್ನೆ Honne, ಹೂಹೊನ್ನೆ Huhonne, ನಮೇರು ಮರ Nameru Mara
- Malayalam
- പുന്ന Punna
- Marathi
- पुन्नाग Punnaga, उंडी Undi
About Sultan Champa
Alexdranian Laurel (Calophyllum inophyllum) belongs to the Clusiaceae family, where it grows as a tree. In India it has been recorded in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra and 11 other states. It grows in plains, especially towards the coast and cultivated in gardens. Flowering and fruiting run from March to November.
Uses
Locally it is grown for parts that are eaten, long used in traditional medicine and cut for timber and furniture. Those medicinal uses are traditional attributions, not medical advice. Parts of this plant are reported as poisonous — treat it as unsafe to eat and wash your hands after handling.
Clusiaceae
Mangosteen/Garcinia family
Sultan Champa belongs to the Clusiaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Clusiaceae familySnap it. Know it.
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Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
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