Calophyllum Explained

Calophyllum is a genus of tropical flowering plants in the family Calophyllaceae. They are mainly distributed in Asia, with some species in Africa, the Americas, Australasia, and the Pacific Islands.^[1]

History

Members of the genus Calophyllum native to Malaysia and Wallacea are of particular importance to traditional shipbuilding of the larger Austronesian outrigger ships and were carried with them in the Austronesian expansion as they migrated to Oceania and Madagascar. They were comparable in importance to how oaks were in European shipbuilding and timber industries. The most notable species is the mastwood (Calophyllum inophyllum) which grows readily in the sandy and rocky beaches of the island environments that the Austronesians colonized.^{[2] [3]}

Description

Calophyllum are trees or shrubs. They produce a colorless, white, or yellow latex. The oppositely arranged leaves have leathery blades often borne on petioles.^[1] The leaves are distinctive, with narrow parallel veins alternating with resin canals.^[4] The inflorescence is a cyme or a thyrse of flowers that grows from the leaf axils or at the ends of branches. In the flower the sepals and petals may look similar and are arranged in whorls. There are many stamens. The fruit is a drupe with thin layers of flesh over a large seed.^[1]

Uses

Many species are used for their wood. Some are hardwood trees that can reach 30 meters in height. They tend to grow rapidly. The outer sapwood is yellowish, yellow-brown, or orange, sometimes with a pink tinge, and the inner heartwood is light reddish to red-brown. The wood has a streaked, ribboned, or zig-zag grain. The wood has been used to build boats, flooring, and furniture, and made into plywood.^{[5] [6]} Calophyllum wood may be sold under the name bitangor, and the species may be used interchangeably; one shipment may contain boards from several different species.^[7]

Plants of the genus are also known for their chemistry, with a variety of secondary metabolites isolated, such as coumarins, xanthones, flavonoids, and triterpenes. Compounds from the genus have been reported to have cytotoxic, anti-HIV, antisecretory, cytoprotective, antinociceptive, molluscicidal, and antimicrobial properties. Some plants are used in folk medicine to treat conditions such as peptic ulcers, tumors, infections, pain, and inflammation.^[8]

C. inophyllum is the source of tamanu oil, a greenish, nutty-scented oil of commercial value. It has been used as massage oil, topical medicine, lamp oil, and waterproofing, and is still used in cosmetics. Tacamahac is the resin of the tree. This species is also cultivated for its wood and planted in coastal landscaping as a windbreak and for erosion control.^[7]

Symbolism

A stylized Calophyllum is featured on the national coat of arms of Nauru.

Species

As of January 2024, Plants of the World Online includes:^[1]

1. Calophyllum acidus
2. Calophyllum acutiputamen
3. Calophyllum aerarium
4. Calophyllum africanum
5. Calophyllum alboramulum
6. Calophyllum amblyphyllum
7. Calophyllum andersonii
8. Calophyllum angulare
9. Calophyllum apetalum
10. Calophyllum archipelagi
11. Calophyllum ardens
12. Calophyllum articulatum
13. Calophyllum aurantiacum
14. Calophyllum aureobrunnescens
15. Calophyllum aureum
16. Calophyllum australianum
17. Calophyllum austroindicum
18. Calophyllum balansae
19. Calophyllum banyengii
20. Calophyllum bicolor
21. Calophyllum biflorum
22. Calophyllum bifurcatum
23. Calophyllum blancoi
24. Calophyllum brachyphyllum
25. Calophyllum bracteatum
26. Calophyllum brasiliense  - Santa Maria
27. Calophyllum brassii
28. Calophyllum calaba
29. Calophyllum calcicola
30. Calophyllum caledonicum
31. Calophyllum canum
32. Calophyllum carrii
33. Calophyllum castaneum
34. Calophyllum caudatum
35. Calophyllum celebicum
36. Calophyllum cerasiferum
37. Calophyllum ceriferum
38. Calophyllum chapelieri
39. Calophyllum clemensiorum
40. Calophyllum collinum
41. Calophyllum comorense
42. Calophyllum complanatum
43. Calophyllum confertum
44. Calophyllum confusum
45. Calophyllum cordato-oblongum
46. Calophyllum coriaceum
47. Calophyllum costatum
48. Calophyllum costulatum
49. Calophyllum cucullatum
50. Calophyllum cuneifolium
51. Calophyllum dasypodium
52. Calophyllum depressinervosum
53. Calophyllum dioscurii
54. Calophyllum dispar
55. Calophyllum dongnaiense
56. Calophyllum drouhardii
57. Calophyllum dryobalanoides
58. Calophyllum echinatum
59. Calophyllum elegans
60. Calophyllum enervosum
61. Calophyllum eputamen
62. Calophyllum euryphyllum
63. Calophyllum exiticostatum
64. Calophyllum ferrugineum
65. Calophyllum fibrosum
66. Calophyllum flavoramulum
67. Calophyllum fraseri
68. Calophyllum garcinioides
69. Calophyllum glaucescens
70. Calophyllum goniocarpum
71. Calophyllum gracilipes
72. Calophyllum gracillimum
73. Calophyllum grandiflorum
74. Calophyllum griseum
75. Calophyllum havilandii
76. Calophyllum heterophyllum
77. Calophyllum hirasimum
78. Calophyllum honbaense
79. Calophyllum hosei
80. Calophyllum humbertii
81. Calophyllum incumbens
82. Calophyllum inophyllum  - mastwood, Alexandrian laurel, tamanu, beauty leaf
83. Calophyllum insularum
84. Calophyllum lanigerum
85. Calophyllum lankaensis
86. Calophyllum laticostatum
87. Calophyllum laxiflorum
88. Calophyllum leleanii
89. Calophyllum leptocladum
90. Calophyllum leucocarpum
91. Calophyllum lineare
92. Calophyllum lingulatum
93. Calophyllum lonchophyllum
94. Calophyllum longifolium
95. Calophyllum lowei
96. Calophyllum macrocarpum
97. Calophyllum macrophyllum
98. Calophyllum membranaceum
99. Calophyllum mesoamericanum ^[4]
100. Calophyllum milvum
101. Calophyllum molle
102. Calophyllum moonii
103. Calophyllum morobensis
104. Calophyllum mukunense
105. Calophyllum multitudinis
106. Calophyllum neoebudicum
107. Calophyllum nodosum
108. Calophyllum novoguineense
109. Calophyllum nubicola
110. Calophyllum obliquinervium
111. Calophyllum obscurum
112. Calophyllum oliganthum
113. Calophyllum pachyphyllum
114. Calophyllum paniculatum
115. Calophyllum papuanum
116. Calophyllum parkeri
117. Calophyllum parviflorum
118. Calophyllum parvifolium
119. Calophyllum pascalianum
120. Calophyllum pauciflorum
121. Calophyllum peekelii
122. Calophyllum pelewense
123. Calophyllum pentapetalum
124. Calophyllum persimile
125. Calophyllum pervillei
126. Calophyllum piluliferum
127. Calophyllum pinetorum
128. Calophyllum pisiferum
129. Calophyllum poilanei
130. Calophyllum polyanthum  - poonspar, sirpoontree
131. Calophyllum praetermissum
132. Calophyllum pubescens ^[4]
133. Calophyllum pulcherrimum
134. Calophyllum pyriforme
135. Calophyllum recedens
136. Calophyllum recurvatum
137. Calophyllum rigidulum
138. Calophyllum rigidum
139. Calophyllum rivulare
140. Calophyllum robustum
141. Calophyllum roseocostatum
142. Calophyllum rotundifolium
143. Calophyllum rubiginosum
144. Calophyllum rufigemmatum
145. Calophyllum rufinerve
146. Calophyllum rugosum
147. Calophyllum rupicola
148. Calophyllum sakarium
149. Calophyllum savannarum
150. Calophyllum sclerophyllum
151. Calophyllum scriblitifolium
152. Calophyllum sil
153. Calophyllum soulattri  - bitangoor boonot, Nicobar canoetree
154. Calophyllum stipitatum
155. Calophyllum streimannii
156. Calophyllum suberosum
157. Calophyllum subhorizontale
158. Calophyllum subsessile
159. Calophyllum sundaicum
160. Calophyllum symingtonianum
161. Calophyllum tacamahaca
162. Calophyllum tetrapterum
163. Calophyllum teysmannii
164. Calophyllum thorelii
165. Calophyllum thuriferum
166. Calophyllum thwaitesii
167. Calophyllum tomentosum  - pink touriga
168. Calophyllum touranense
169. Calophyllum tournanense
170. Calophyllum trachycaule
171. Calophyllum trapezifolium
172. Calophyllum undulatum
173. Calophyllum utile
174. Calophyllum vanoverberghii
175. Calophyllum venulosum
176. Calophyllum vergens
177. Calophyllum vernicosum
178. Calophyllum verticillatum
179. Calophyllum vexans
180. Calophyllum vitiense
181. Calophyllum waliense
182. Calophyllum walkeri
183. Calophyllum wallichianum
184. Calophyllum whitfordii
185. Calophyllum woodii

See also

• Domesticated plants and animals of Austronesia

Bibliography

• Book: Blume. Carl Ludwig von. Carl Ludwig von Blume. Bijdragen tot de Flora van Nederlandsch Indie. 5. 1825. Ter Lands Drukkerij. Batavia. 218. la, nl.
• Book: Loureiro. João de. João de Loureiro. Flora cochinchinensis: sistens plantas in regno Cochinchina nascentes. Quibus accedunt aliæ observatæ in Sinensi imperio, Africa Orientali, Indiæque locis variis. Omnes dispositæ secundum systema sexuale Linnæanum. Ulyssipone.. 2. 1790. Impennsis Haude et Spener. 468. Berolini. la.
• Book: Ludwig. Christian Gottlieb. Christian Gottlieb Ludwig. Böhmer. Georg Rudolf. Georg Rudolf Boehmer. D. Christiani Gottlieb Ludwig ... Definitiones generum plantarum : olim in usum auditorum collectas nunc auctas et emendata. 1760. Ex Officina I.F. Gleditschii. 2. Lipsiae. 239, 371. la.
• Book: Miller. Philip. Philip Miller. The gardeners dictionary : containing the methods of cultivating and improving all sorts of trees, plants, and flowers, for the kitchen, fruit, and pleasure gardens, as also those which are used in medicine : with directions for the culture of vineyards, and making of wine in England.... 1754. v.1 . Printed for the author and sold by John and James Rivington. 4. London.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Li . Xi-wen . Li . Jie . Stevens . Peter . n.d. . Calophyllum (Linnaeus) Sp. Pl. 1: 513. 1753., 1841. 红厚壳属 hong hou ke shu . Flora of China . en . 13 . 1, 38.
2. Book: Frederick H. . Damon. Trees, Knots, and Outriggers: Environmental Knowledge in the Northeast Kula Ring. A Story of Calophyllum: From Ecological to Social Facts. Berghahn Books. 2016. 180–246. 9781785332333. https://books.google.com/books?id=AObACwAAQBAJ&pg=PA180.
3. Book: C.. Orwa . A.. Mutua. R.. Kindt. S.. Anthony. Agroforestree Database:a tree reference and selection guide version 4.0. Calophyllum inophyllum. World Agroforestry. 2009. http://www.worldagroforestry.org/treedb/AFTPDFS/Calophyllum_inophyllum.PDF.
4. Díaz . D. M. V. . Multivariate analysis of morphological and anatomical characters of Calophyllum (Calophyllaceae) in South America: Multivariate Analysis of Calophyllum . Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society . March 2013 . 171 . 3 . 587–626 . 10.1111/boj.12012. free .
5. http://www.daff.qld.gov.au/forestry/using-wood-and-its-benefits/wood-properties-of-timber-trees/calophyllum Calophyllum.
6. Richter, H. G. and M. J. Dallwitz. 2000 onwards. Calophyllum. Commercial Timbers. DELTA. Version: 25 June 2009.
7. Friday, J. B. and R. Ogoshi. Farm and Forestry Production and Marketing Profile for Tamanu (Calophyllum inophyllum). In: Elevitch, C. R. (ed.) Specialty Crops for Pacific Island Agroforestry. Permanent Agriculture Resources. Holualoa, Hawaii. 2011.
8. Cechinel Filho . V. . Meyre-Silva . C. . Niero . R. . Chemical and Pharmacological Aspects of the Genus Calophyllum . Chemistry & Biodiversity . 2009 . 6 . 3 . 313–327 . 10.1002/cbdv.200800082. 19319867 . 45018591 .