St Mary's College, Sulthan Bathery   /   Plant

Plant Details

Michelia champaca L.

Michelia champaca is an evergreen or semi-deciduous, small to medium- sized tree up to 50 m tall; bole straight, cylindrical, up to 200 cm in diameter, without buttresses; bark surface smooth, grey to greyish-white, inner bark fibrous, yellow to brown, crown conical to cylindrical.
Leaves simple, entire, arranged spirally; stipules adnate to or free from the petiole.
Flowers on short, axillary brachyblast, solitary or rarely in pairs, large, tepals 6-21, in 3-6 usually subequal whorls, white to yellow; stamens many, anthers with a short to prominently elongated connective; gynoecium stipitate, with spirally arranged, free or connate carpels containing many ovules.
Fruiting carpels dehiscing along the dorsal suture when free or fused and forming a fleshy or woody syncarp. Seed hanging from its funicle.
The genus is named after Italian botanist Peter A. Michel (1679-1737); the specific epithet after the Hindu name.

  • Family: Magnoliaceae
  • Habit: Trees,buttressed,up to 30 m tall.
  • Habitat: Evergreen forests
  • Status : Common


Vernacular names

English                   : Joy Perfume Tree
Indian Languages  :  Champakam,Shenbagam
Other                     :Champa,Champaka,Champakam,Champak Or Champac,Dodda Sampige Mara
Golden/ Yellow/ Orange/ Fragrant Champa,Sampige,Serjo-asing (Mishing).

Medicinal Uses

Conventionally it is widely used in both Ayurveda and Siddha medicine. It is being used in fever, colic, leprosy, post-partum protection3 and in eye disorders. Juice of the leaves of Michelia champaca is given with honey in cases of colic. The flower oil is useful in cephalalgia, opthalmia and gout. 
The bark is used as a stimulant, expectorant, astringent and febrifugal properties.The dried root and roots bark, mixed with curdled milk, is useful as an application to absecesses, clearing away or maturing the inflammation. In the form of an infusion it is valuable emmenagogue. It is also considered purgative. Root and bark are used as purgative and in the treatment of inflammation, constipation and dysmenorrhea. The flowers and fruits are considered stimulant, antispasmodic, tonic, stomachic, bitter and cool remedies and are used in dyspepsia, nausea and fever. Flower, flower buds and fruits are useful in ulcers, skin disease wounds. The flowers mixed with sesamum oil forms an external application in vertigo11 and also applied to foetid discharges from the nostrils. They are useful as a diuretic in renal diseases and in gonorrhoea. The flower buds of Michelia champaca are commonly used by many traditional healers in most of herbal preparations for diabetes. The flowers and fruits in combination with other drugs are recommended as an anti-dote to snake and scorpion venoms. 
It finds mention as one of the ingredients of the Sarvasugandhi group and is used in psychoneurosis by traditional healers.