Calophyllum inophyllum

Calophyllum inophyllum.jpg

NAME:    Calophyllum inophyllum

FAMILY: Guttiferae or Calophyllaceae

COMMON NAMES:  Alexandrian laurel, Dillo oil tree,red poon

LOCAL NAMES:  bintangur, Nambagura, tamanu, or kamani.

MORPHORLOGICAL DESCRIPTION Calophyllum inophyllum is an ornamental plant. It is a medium-sized and slow-growing evergreen tree with a spreading and irregular crown. It usually grows up to 8 to 20 m (26 to 66 ft) in height. All parts of the plant contain a sticky yellowish latex.

GENERAL USES:

  • Shipbuilding

  • An oil obtained from the seed is edible after being refined

  • The mature fruit is burned as a mosquito repellent

  • The stones of the fruit are used as marbles

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION

  • Calophyllum inophyllum is native to Africa, South, Southeast and East Asia, Australia

WHY IS IT GREEN?

  • Purgative

  • Eye infection

  • migraine

  • astringent

  • ulcers

  • gonorrhea

  • boils and ophthalmia

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

  • The sap of the tree is poisonous

  • The leaves contain compounds that are poisonous to fish

FUN FACT

  • In Australia a fine of £10 is inflicted on any person who cuts down Alexandrian laurel.

FURTHER READINGS

Lim, T. K., & Lim, T. K. (2012). Calophyllum inophyllum. In Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1764-0_2

Ong, H. C., Mahlia, T. M. I., Masjuki, H. H., & Norhasyima, R. S. (2011). Comparison of palm oil, Jatropha curcas and Calophyllum inophyllum for biodiesel: A review. In Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2011.05.005

Susanto, D. F., Aparamarta, H. W., Widjaja, A., & Gunawan, S. (2017). Identification of phytochemical compounds in Calophyllum inophyllum leaves. Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apjtb.2017.08.001