Champak | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
(unranked): | Angiosperms |
(unranked): | Magnoliids |
Order: | Magnoliales |
Family: | Magnoliaceae |
Genus: | Magnolia |
Species: | M. champaca |
Binomial name | |
Magnolia champaca (L.) Baill. ex Pierre |
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Synonyms | |
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Magnolia champaca, known in English as champak, is a large evergreen tree in the Magnoliaceae family. It was previously classified as Michelia champaca. It known for its fragrant flowers, and its timber used in woodworking.
The species epithet, champaca, comes from the Sanskrit word campaka (pronounced tʃaɱpaka).
Other vernacular names in English include Joy perfume tree, yellow jade orchid tree and fragrant Himalayan champaca.
In the Philippines, it is locally known as tsampaka, sampaka or sampaga. The fragrant flowers, together with sampaguita, ylang-ylang and camia, are usually strung into garlands and leis used to adorn statues of saints.
The tree is native to the Indomalaya ecozone, consisting of South Asia, Southeast Asia−Indochina, and southern China.
It is found in Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregions, at elevations of 200–1,600 metres (660–5,250 ft). It is native to Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam. In China it is native to southern Xizang and southern and southwestern Yunnan Provinces.