• Family : CLUSIACEAE
  (GARCINIA or COCUM FAMILY)
• Family (as per The Plant List) : Calophyllaceae
• Species : Calophyllum inophyllum
• Species Name (as per The Plant List) : Calophyllum inophyllum L.
• Common name : Alexdranian Laurel, Common Poon, Bilo Oil Tree
• Vernacular name : Surpan, Sultan Champa, Surpunka (Hin.); Honne, Surahonne, Kalhonne (Kan.); Pinnai (Tam.); Ponna, Puna (Tel.); Poonang, Polang (Ori.); Punnaga, Panchakeshera (San.)
• Key identification features : A handsome medium to large-size evergreen tree with milky latex. Leaves are simple, opposite-decussate, oblong-ovate with several closely set parallel, lateral veins. Flowers are in axillary, few-flowered corymbose inflorescence, about 4 cm. across, fragrant, showy and bear many free stamens. Fruit is hard, globoid, of 3-4 cms diameter, resembling a golf ball, green, but turning yellow when ripe. Bark is dark reddish-brown with vertical furrows and horizontal cracks.
• Habit : Tree
• Flower, Fruit : March-November
• Native : East Africa
• Comments : Often cultivated in gardens. Resin yellowish, green and scented. Seeds yeild an oil used for burning and as a lubricant.
• Conservation Status : Least Concern (LC)
• World Distribution : Paleotropics
• Literature : Pullaiah et al., 2002 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 1; H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1994- Flora of Orissa Vol. 1; IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.1. ; Matthew, K.M., The Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983.
• Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Arun Singh R., Deepak Kumar, Raja K Swamy and Navendu Page (2016). Digital Flora of Eastern Ghats. http://easternghats.ces.iisc.ernet.in/plants.php?name=Calophyllum inophyllum. Downloaded on 21 November 2024.

Description

Line Drawings

Field Images