alexandrine laurel (callophylum inophyllum): info fact sheet, photos

Sitemap

List of birds
on this site

List of plants
on this site

List of animals
on this site

My homepage

Alexandrine Laurel
Calophyllum inophyllum
Laurel Wood, Penaga Laut (Malay)

huge clusters of blossoms on a tree

A beautiful tree with small white fragrant flowers which sparkle like stars against the dark green leaves.

close up of flower

They begin to open at 3-4 am and are wide open at sunrise. The fragrance attracts a wide variety of pollinating insects.

The fruits look like little ping-pong balls. The leaves have curious tiny close-set parallel veins. The tree can tolerate full strength seawater and grows along the seashore.

Uses: The reddish-brown timber is hard and straight, thus valued for making boat masts (Malaysia). It is also made into planks. The beautiful tree is planted as a wayside tree in Singapore.

Mangrove and wetland wildlife at
Sungei Buloh Nature Park

Main features: Slow growing, spreading crown with large branches, grows up to 20-40m. Bark: Rough, grey. Leaves: Oval, tough, shiny, dark green, close-set parallel veins. Flowers: Small, short-lasting, fragrant. Appears in a cluster. In Singapore, flowers twice a year: Apr-Jun and Oct-Dec. Fruits: Round, at first pinkish-green, turning bright green, ripening to dark grey-brown. Under the leathery skin is a bony shell containing a cork-like substance that holds one seed. The seed is slightly toxic.


Status in Singapore: Common. World distribution: Native to coasts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, introduced to some places such as Hawaii. Classification: Family Clusiaceae.

In Hawaii, it is also used in building boats. Because the timber does not smell or taste bad, it was also carved into food containers. The thick, dark green oil which exudes from the drying seeds was used as lamp fuel and to waterproof cloth (but this oil is poisonous). The fruits are also used to make a brown dye. If the trunk is cut, it exudes a gum which solidifies. The fragrant flowers are used in leis (garlands).

Traditional medicinal uses: The gum, bark, leaves, roots, flowers and the oil extracted from the seeds are used in traditional medicine for a wide range of ills. The oil is used for massages, together with coconut oil and flower fragrances.

A relative of this plant, the Bingtangor Tree (Calophyllum lanigerum var. austrocoriaceum) produced a new compound, Calanolide A, that was found highly effective in controlling the AIDS virus in the laboratory. The compound was extracted from a twig and fruit of a tree growing in Sarawak, Malaysia. When researchers returned to get more material, the tree had already been chopped down. Fortunately, other trees of the same species was found close by. Calanolide A has since been synthesised and is still being tested as an AIDS control.

Role in the habitat: The fruits of Calophyllum are dispersed by bats and of those that grow by the river, by fish! In fact, the fruits of the Bintangor tree are used as fish bait by the Malays.

LINKS

Trees in Singapore on Flora and Fauna section of the NParks website: description, distribution, photo
Canoe Plants of Ancient Hawaii: fact sheet with lots of details on its history in Hawaii, and traditional uses.
Bat Conservation International Products derived from plants visited by bats: details on uses and medicinal applications.
Halophyte DataBase, Salt-Tolerant Plants and Their Uses by N P Yensen: brief fact sheet.
Medicinal value of species by Scott Perowitz for Enviroweb: About the discovery of anti-HIV properties of Callophylum lanigerum.
IAPAC International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care: about clinical studies of Callophylum lanigerum.
Drift Seeds And Drift Fruits Seeds That Ride The Ocean Currents on Wayne's Word: About how the Pacific Ocean islanders use the tree with photos of a lamp shade made from the fruits.

REFERENCES

To buy these references & others, visit
Nature's Niche

Ivan Polunin, "Plants and Flowers of Singapore", Times Editions, 1987 (p. 116: description, habitat, distribution, photo).
Wee Yeow Chin, "A Guide to the Wayside Trees of Singapore", Singapore Science Centre, 1989 (p. 81: description, habitat, photo).
E. J. H. Corner, "Wayside Trees of Malaya: Vol I", Malayan Nature Society, 4th ed., 1997 (p. 350-351: description, habit, distribution).

By Ria Tan, 2001