KANAK CHAMPA

Kanak Champa Tree Maple leaved 

 Kanak Champa flower opens like banana

Kanak Flower

Fragrant Kanak Champa Flowers

Kanak Champa Flower / सोनचाफा Son Chafa in Marathi

Leaf / Dinner Plate Tree

                                        

Scientific Name : Pterospermum acerifolium

Other names : Dinner Plate Tree. Maple-leaved Bayur tree / Karnikara tree. कनक चंपा, मुचकुंद तथा पद्म पुष्प।  'रोसु कुंडा' in Bengalis, 'हाथीपैला' in Sikkim. In Philippines it is known as Bayog Tree .

Introduction

Pterospermum acerifolium, the Maple leaved bayur tree / Muchkund or karnikara tree, is a flowering plant indigenous to Southeast Asia, from India to Burma. It is most likely to grow naturally along forested stream banks. The best growing conditions are a seasonally moist then dry climate with access to full sunlight. 

The tree is usually cultivated as an ornamental tree and finds extensive use in landscaping. It reaches a hieght of 50-70 meters. Its wood is red in color. Mostly planted as an ornamental or shade tree,

Bark : The bark of the tree is grey in color and is considered to be fairly soft.

Leaf : Leaves variable in size and shape, 20-35 cm long, orbicular or oblong, with a cordate base. Leaf edges are, entire or dentate (remotely toothed) or irregularly lobed. The top side of the leaves is a dark green color with a glabrescent texture, Silvery or grey tomentose beneath. Leaves have a peltate blade base. Leaves are shaped like Maple.  The leaves do not tear even on crumpling. The bottom side of the leaves range from a silver to rust color and are pubescent. Leaves have a peltate blade base, meaning the insertion of the petiole is at the center of the leaf.

Flower :  The Bayur tree produces large, white, finger shaped flowers in the spring. Flowers begin as one long bud, then separating into five more slender sepals as it matures. Each sepal can be up to seven inches long. The sepals of the flower curl outward and around the white and gold stamen located at the center. The flowers are nocturnal and exceptionally fragrant, suggesting they attract moths for pollination. The flowers of the Bayur tree can serve as a pleasant perfume and can even keep away insects. 

Kanak Champa : Flowers appears in March with some trees still flowering at the end of April. Kanak Champa's flowers serve as pleasant perfumes. Flowers solitary or 2-3 together arising from  leaf axils; The long khaki flower buds open by splitting into five slender segments, peeling backwards. The five pure white petals are only slightly shorter, tubular at first, opening at night and  visited by bats. Each flower last only for a single night. They are deliciously fragrant. It has large fragrant nocturnal white flower, The leaves are used as plates. The flowers are insect repellant. Peeled-banana look like flowers and dinner-plate sized leaf are popular features of Kanak Champa, a native tree to land. 

Fruit : Fruit is a capsule, oblong, 5-angled, dark brown, woody with a very rough texture sometimes covered with brown hairs.

                                                                             Muchukunda Fruit / winged seed

Many call it ‘dinner plate tree’ because of its large pinnate leaves. Both dried leaves and flowers are falling from the trees these days. Leaves of this tree are used for making eco friendly plate.

Season

Flowering and fruiting time-January to April

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