# Magnolia champaca
**Magnolia champaca** (黄兰), the champak or fragrant champaca, is a tropical and subtropical Asian tree of the magnolia family, [Magnoliaceae](https://www.edgepedia.org/magnoliaceae), grown for its intensely fragrant yellow to orange flowers, which supply an essential oil used in perfumery and in Hindu and Buddhist religious offerings.[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A554657-1/general-information) • [2](https://www.nparks.gov.sg/florafaunaweb/flora/3/0/3025) The species was long known as *Michelia champaca* L., a name published by Linnaeus in *Species Plantarum* in 1753, before being transferred to *[Magnolia](https://www.edgepedia.org/magnolia)* as *M. champaca* (L.) Baill. ex Pierre, first published in *Flore forestière de la Cochinchine*, plate 3, in 1880.[3](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A554657-1)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Accepted name | *Magnolia champaca* (L.) Baill. ex Pierre, Magnoliaceae; basionym *Michelia champaca* L. (1753)[3](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A554657-1) |
| Native range | S. India to S. Central China and the Lesser Sunda Islands; a tree of the wet tropical biome[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A554657-1/general-information) |
| Size | Up to 50 m tall in the wild, to 1.9 m in trunk diameter[2](https://www.nparks.gov.sg/florafaunaweb/flora/3/0/3025) • [4](https://efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=3&taxon_id=200008479) |
| Varieties | Two accepted: var. *champaca* and var. *pubinervia* (Blume) Figlar & Noot.[3](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A554657-1) |
| Conservation | IUCN Red List: Least Concern; 2024 modeled extinction risk: not threatened, with confident rating[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A554657-1/general-information) |
| Perfume yield | Champaca absolute yields 0.1 to 0.15 percent by weight of fresh flowers; combined yellow and white champaca absolute production is a few hundred kilograms to about one ton per year, against roughly 4,000 tons of rose absolute[5](https://osmetheca.be/en/encyclopedia/champaca.html) |
| Wood | Medium-weight hardwood, density (310-)460-695 kg/m³ at 15% moisture content; heartwood gross energy value about 21,070 kJ/kg[6](https://plantuse.plantnet.org/en/Michelia_(PROSEA_Timbers)) |
## Description
*Magnolia champaca* is an evergreen canopy tree that can reach 50 m in the wild, with a straight, columnar trunk bearing smooth gray bark and a cylindrical or conical crown.[2](https://www.nparks.gov.sg/florafaunaweb/flora/3/0/3025) The Flora of China treatment records trees to 50 m or taller and up to 1.9 m diameter at breast height.[4](https://efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=3&taxon_id=200008479) Leaves are spirally arranged, elliptic to narrowly ovate, 10 to 35 cm long and 4 to 11 cm wide, slightly hairy on the underside, with 14 to 23 pairs of secondary veins.[2](https://www.nparks.gov.sg/florafaunaweb/flora/3/0/3025)
The flowers are solitary in the leaf axils, fragrant, light yellow when young and becoming orange-yellow with maturity, each about 2 to 4.5 cm long with tepals in several inconspicuous whorls.[2](https://www.nparks.gov.sg/florafaunaweb/flora/3/0/3025) The plant is free-flowering and produces blooms throughout the year.[2](https://www.nparks.gov.sg/florafaunaweb/flora/3/0/3025) Flowers are pollinated by beetles, which feed on the stigmas, pollen, nectar, and petal secretions; the flowers are protogynous.[2](https://www.nparks.gov.sg/florafaunaweb/flora/3/0/3025) • [6](https://plantuse.plantnet.org/en/Michelia_(PROSEA_Timbers)) The fruit hangs in spiral clusters 6 to 30 cm long holding 6 to 40 individual woody fruits, each 1.5 to 2 cm long and pale brown with large cream lenticels; ripe fruit splits to reveal 2 to 6 seeds covered in red or pink flesh and hanging on thin white threads, dispersed by birds and mammals.[2](https://www.nparks.gov.sg/florafaunaweb/flora/3/0/3025)
## Taxonomy
Linnaeus described the species as *Michelia champaca* in 1753, and it stood in the genus *Michelia* for most of its taxonomic history.[3](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A554657-1) Plants of the World Online now treats *Michelia champaca* as a synonym of *Magnolia champaca*, following authorities including the Flora of Peninsular Malaysia (2012) and [Nooteboom](https://www.edgepedia.org/nooteboom) and Chalermglin's Magnoliaceae of Thailand (2009); some regional floras, such as the Plants of Mount Kinabalu (2004), still accepted *Michelia champaca*.[7](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/554947-1) Two varieties are accepted: var. *champaca*, native from southern India to China (Yunnan), and var. *pubinervia* (Blume) Figlar & Noot.[3](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A554657-1) • [8](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A77172355-1) The varietal name *champaca* carries 13 recorded scientific synonyms, including *Michelia aurantiaca* Wall. and *Michelia rufinervis* DC.[9](https://mpns.science.kew.org/mpns-portal/plantDetail?dbs=wcs&filter=&fuzzy=false&nameType=all&plantId=351127&query=magnolia%E9%9F%B3%E4%B9%90%E4%B8%8B%E8%BD%BD) The genus name commemorates the French botany professor Pierre Magnol (1638 to 1715), and the epithet comes from the Sanskrit name for the flower, *campaka*.[2](https://www.nparks.gov.sg/florafaunaweb/flora/3/0/3025)
## Distribution and ecology
The species is native from southern India through Assam, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and south-central China to Borneo, Java, Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia, and the [Lesser Sunda Islands](https://www.edgepedia.org/lesser-sunda-islands); it has been introduced to the [Andaman Islands](https://www.edgepedia.org/andaman-islands), Mauritius, the [Nicobar Islands](https://www.edgepedia.org/nicobar-islands), Réunion, and Sulawesi.[3](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A554657-1) It grows in humid tropical evergreen forest or at forest edges on deep, fertile soils at 250 to 1500 m altitude, in Java mostly between 1000 and 1200 m.[10](https://prosea.prota4u.org/view.aspx?id=668) The tree is susceptible to fire and intolerant of air pollution when planted as a roadside tree.[10](https://prosea.prota4u.org/view.aspx?id=668)
## Perfumery and fragrance chemistry
The flowers are rich in essential oil and are used for perfumes and hair oil, as well as for religious offerings in Hindu and Buddhist traditions.[2](https://www.nparks.gov.sg/florafaunaweb/flora/3/0/3025) In India the traditional route is attar production, in which the flowers are hydro-distilled directly onto a sandalwood base rather than yielding a free absolute.[5](https://osmetheca.be/en/encyclopedia/champaca.html) Extraction is difficult because the key odorants do not distill easily: yellow champaca contains heavy aromatic esters such as [methyl benzoate](https://www.edgepedia.org/methyl-benzoate) and benzyl acetate, significant phenylacetic acid and phenylacetates that give a honeyed, spicy, rosy, faintly tobacco-like undertone, and fruity facets from β-ionone and dihydro-β-ionone; it also contains far more indole than white magnolia, placing its profile closer to jasmine and ylang-ylang.[11](https://www.fragrantica.com/news/Magnolia-Prehistoric-Flowers-and-Modern-Perfumes-24620.html) Champaca absolute is more expensive than magnolia oil and produced in smaller quantities.[11](https://www.fragrantica.com/news/Magnolia-Prehistoric-Flowers-and-Modern-Perfumes-24620.html)
**A related hybrid.** *Magnolia* × *alba*, the white champaca, probably arose by hybridization between *M. champaca* and *M. montana*; it rarely produces fruit and is unknown in the wild.[6](https://plantuse.plantnet.org/en/Michelia_(PROSEA_Timbers)) Compared with *M. champaca*, it has a more open crown, glossy leaves with a smooth underside, white flowers with a subtler fruity fragrance, and free-flowering abundant bloom.[12](https://www.nparks.gov.sg/florafaunaweb/resource/-/media/ffw/general/comparison-of-similar-plants/magnolia-champaca-with-magnolia-x-alba.ashx)
## Uses
**Timber.** The nicely figured wood is used particularly for furniture and cabinet work, carvings, turnery, and pattern making, and the genus more broadly for light construction, veneer, plywood, and firewood.[6](https://plantuse.plantnet.org/en/Michelia_(PROSEA_Timbers)) In Singapore's plant records the light, durable wood is listed for furniture, door panels, cabinets, sacred carvings such as bead chains, and coffins.[2](https://www.nparks.gov.sg/florafaunaweb/flora/3/0/3025) In West Java the species is used to reforest badly eroded areas and as a wayside tree in low-traffic areas.[13](https://prosea.prota4u.org/view.aspx?id=5870) Planted trees in Java add 1.0 to 1.8 m in height and 1.5 to 2.0 cm in diameter per year over 10 to 27 years, and the species can attain an annual increment of 20 to 25 m³/ha during its first 10 years; a 50-year rotation is recommended for sawn timber.[6](https://plantuse.plantnet.org/en/Michelia_(PROSEA_Timbers))
**Medicine and other products.** In traditional Ayurvedic medicine an infusion of the bitter bark is taken to reduce fever, and leaf tea is used for cough and tonsillitis; flowers and buds are applied externally to wounds or inflammation.[2](https://www.nparks.gov.sg/florafaunaweb/flora/3/0/3025) A decoction of bark, and sometimes leaves, is commonly given after childbirth, the bark serves as a febrifuge, and in Myanmar the flowers are used to treat leprosy and the leaves for colic; the seed oil shows antibacterial activity, and the leaves are used to feed silkworms.[13](https://prosea.prota4u.org/view.aspx?id=5870)
## Cultivation and conservation
The tree requires moist, deep, fertile soils and is a moderate light-demander; for flower production ample watering is needed except during the rainy season.[6](https://plantuse.plantnet.org/en/Michelia_(PROSEA_Timbers)) • [10](https://prosea.prota4u.org/view.aspx?id=668) It is propagated by seed, stem cutting, or air-layering.[2](https://www.nparks.gov.sg/florafaunaweb/flora/3/0/3025) Seed lots hold 10,000 to 29,500 dry seeds per kilogram, but seeds lose viability very fast, often within two weeks, and can be kept by moist storage at 5 °C for about seven months.[6](https://plantuse.plantnet.org/en/Michelia_(PROSEA_Timbers)) Seed-grown plants may take up to 10 years to flower, and the species is a cold-sensitive H2 rating in the UK, unlikely to survive outdoors there.[14](https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/284567/magnolia-champaca/details)
Globally the species is assessed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, and the 2024 angiosperm extinction-risk predictions rate it not threatened with confident confidence.[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A554657-1/general-information) Local populations nonetheless face pressure from overharvesting, habitat fragmentation, and unsustainable flower collection, and conservation programs such as Nepal's Hariyo Ban Program have promoted seedling production, breeding orchards, and community-led conservation.[15](https://ijirt.org/publishedpaper/IJIRT191642_PAPER.pdf)
## References
1. [Magnolia champaca (L.) Baill. ex Pierre, Plants of the World Online, Kew Science](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A554657-1/general-information)
2. [Magnolia champaca, Flora & Fauna Web, National Parks Board, Singapore](https://www.nparks.gov.sg/florafaunaweb/flora/3/0/3025)
3. [Magnolia champaca (L.) Baill. ex Pierre, taxonomy and synonyms, Plants of the World Online, Kew Science](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A554657-1)
4. [Michelia champaca in Flora of China, efloras.org](https://efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=3&taxon_id=200008479)
5. [Champaca (Magnolia champaca), perfumery raw material, Osmetheca](https://osmetheca.be/en/encyclopedia/champaca.html)
6. [Michelia (PROSEA Timbers), Pl@ntUse](https://plantuse.plantnet.org/en/Michelia_(PROSEA_Timbers))
7. [Michelia champaca L., Plants of the World Online, Kew Science](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/554947-1)
8. [Magnolia champaca var. champaca, Plants of the World Online, Kew Science](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A77172355-1)
9. [Plant name details for Magnolia champaca var. champaca, Medicinal Plant Names Services, Kew](https://mpns.science.kew.org/mpns-portal/plantDetail?dbs=wcs&filter=&fuzzy=false&nameType=all&plantId=351127&query=magnolia%E9%9F%B3%E4%B9%90%E4%B8%8B%E8%BD%BD)
10. [Michelia champaca, PROSEA, Plant Resources of South East Asia](https://prosea.prota4u.org/view.aspx?id=668)
11. [Magnolia: Prehistoric Flowers and Modern Perfumes, Fragrantica](https://www.fragrantica.com/news/Magnolia-Prehistoric-Flowers-and-Modern-Perfumes-24620.html)
12. [Comparison of Similar Looking Plants: Magnolia champaca and Magnolia × alba, NParks](https://www.nparks.gov.sg/florafaunaweb/resource/-/media/ffw/general/comparison-of-similar-plants/magnolia-champaca-with-magnolia-x-alba.ashx)
13. [Magnolia champaca uses, PROSEA](https://prosea.prota4u.org/view.aspx?id=5870)
14. [Magnolia champaca, champ wood, RHS plant profile](https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/284567/magnolia-champaca/details)
15. [Conservation of Magnolia champaca, IJIRT Volume 12 Issue 8](https://ijirt.org/publishedpaper/IJIRT191642_PAPER.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Life and health › Plants and algae › Seed plants › Other flowering plants › Magnoliids*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license