Michelia champaca seed
LATIN NAME: Michelia champaca
COMMON NAME: Champak
The champak is a handsome, evergreen tree of the warm forests, and its large, glossy leaves and its intensely fragrant, golden-yellow flowers have made it one of the most treasured of the fragrant trees of the region. It grows as an evergreen tree, reaching up to thirty metres or more, with the upright, branching trunk bearing the alternate, large, oval, pointed, glossy, leathery leaves and, through the spring and the summer, the many slender-petalled, fragrant, golden-yellow flowers in the leaf axils, followed by the clusters of the fleshy, cone-like fruits of the small seeds. It is a species of the flowering tree in the magnolia family, and it is native to the warm forests of the southern Asia, while it is grown for its fragrant flowers and its fine form, and it is known as the champak or the yellow jade orchid.
The champak belongs to the magnolia family, Magnoliaceae, and it is a species of the evergreen tree, native to the warm forests of the southern Asia, while it is grown for its fragrant flowers and its fine form, and it is known as the champak. It is prized for its intensely fragrant, golden-yellow flowers.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The champak has a real and distinguished place in the research. It has been studied in the chemistry of the natural products and the perfumery, since the intensely fragrant, golden-yellow flowers of the champak yield a fine and highly valued fragrance oil, and researchers have examined the flowers and their oil, while the perfume of the champak has drawn attention in the international perfumery and fragrance press as one of the fine floral oils of the world. The plant has also been studied in the botany and the ecology, since it is a native of the warm forests of the southern Asia, and its relationships, its distribution and its role in the forest have been examined, while the ecology of the magnolia family in the region has been of continuing interest, and the study of the wild trees has been of value. The species has also been studied in the horticulture and the conservation science, since it is a handsome, fragrant, evergreen tree of the warm garden, and researchers have examined its growth and its cultivation, while the growing of the champak in the garden has been of continuing interest, and the selection of the better-growing forms has been of value. For a tree of such fragrance, the champak has a rich and continuing record of study.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
Ecologically, the champak is a generous tree of the garden. Its intensely fragrant, golden-yellow flowers feed the bees and the many insects, and its large, glossy, evergreen crown gives a fine, dense shade and a cover to the birds through the year. It is a tree of the treasured, fragrant kind.
Its economic value is real. The champak is treasured for its intensely fragrant, golden-yellow flowers, and its value has drawn attention in the international perfumery and fragrance press as one of the fine floral oils of the world, while its flowers have also been valued in the garlands and the offerings of the region, and its fine, hard wood has been used in the fine work. For a grower, the champak is a rewarding and treasured tree, and for a gardener it brings an intensely fragrant, golden-yellow-flowered tree to the warm garden. The seeds are easy to start — press them gently into the surface of moist, free-draining soil, keep them lightly watered in a warm, sheltered spot, and they’ll be sprouting steadily, growing on into a fragrant, golden-flowered tree.
The Golden Champaca is a tropical tree in the Magnolia family that is grown for its flowers. The flowers are not as large or as showy as some other members of the family but they more than make up for it by their wonderful, intoxicating fragrance. The scent of the flowers is strong, delicious and alluring that the flowers are harvested to make some of the most expensive perfumes in the world. The essential oil of the flowers is used in Joy Perfume and so the tree is also known as the Joy Perfume Tree. The smell of champaca is unique, reminiscent of orange blossom, ylang-ylang, cloves and tea rose, with some hints of sage, spice and guaiac wood. The derivation of the word shampoo is the Hindi word champo, meaning to massage, which comes from champa, the Sanskrit name for champaca. This tree was traditionally used to make fragrant hair and massage oils.
It is native to India and Southeast Asia. In its native range, champaca is a smooth-barked, large, evergreen, timber tree that grows more than one hundred feet tall. In cultivation, they mature at between twenty-five and forty feet. The bright green, glossy leaves have wavy edges, prominent veins, and a finely pointed apex or “drip tip.” The flowers have ten to twenty yellow, orange, or cream-colored petals that get progressively smaller towards the center of the flower. Champaca fruit are clumping, oblong, brown follicles that split at maturity, exposing bright red seeds. In Asia it is logged for its valuable timber. It yields 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 parts of India, especially the Southwest, where certain groves are considered sacred by Hindus and Buddhists. It is Also classified as Magnolia champaca.
Growing Instructions
- Scarify the seeds by nicking or sanding the seed coat.
- Soak the seed in water for 24 hours.
- Prepare a mixture of half potting soil and half sand, perlite or vermiculite.
- Put the mixture in a pot with drainage holes in the base.
- Water the mixture so that it is moist but not wet.
- Put the seeds on the soil.
- Cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil.
- Water the seeds and keep the soil moist but not wet. The seeds need high humidity and warm temperatures. Keep the soil constantly moist and cover it with plastic foil or glass.
- Place the pots in an area with warm temperatures in full sun or part shade.
- When the seedlings are a few inches tall, they can be transplanted.