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champaka
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Fragrant champaka flower Champaka flowers champac champac
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Venus's-flytrap. Venus's-flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) one of the best known of the meat-eating plants. Carnivorous plant, Venus flytrap, Venus fly trap
Plants: From Cute to Carnivorous
Quick Facts
Formerly:
Michelia champaca
Also called:
joy perfume tree, champak, champac, or champaca
Related Topics:
magnolia
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Fragrant champaka flower
Fragrant champaka flower A close-up of a champaka flower (Magnolia champaca).

champaka

tree
Also known as: Magnolia champaca, Michelia champaca, champac, champaca, champak, joy perfume tree(Show More)
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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History
Taxonomy

champaka, (Magnolia champaca), tree native to tropical Asia that is best known for its pleasant fragrance. The essential oils taken from its strong-scented flowers were famously used in Joy by Jean Patou, once one of the world’s most expensive perfumes, and continue to be used in other perfumes.

Physical description

The champaka tree grows to about 50 meters (164 feet) tall and has smooth gray or grayish-white bark. The lustrous evergreen leaves can be up to 35 cm (about 14 inches) long. Its pale orange or yellow star-shaped flowers are narrow-petaled and about 6.5 cm (2.6 inches) in length; they bloom during spring and fall. Scarlet or brown seeds cluster along a long stalk.

A related species, Magnolia compressa, is a 12.2-meter- (40-foot-) tall tree native to Japan that has 5-cm- (2-inch-) wide fragrant yellow flowers.

Venus's-flytrap. Venus's-flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) one of the best known of the meat-eating plants. Carnivorous plant, Venus flytrap, Venus fly trap
Britannica Quiz
Plants: From Cute to Carnivorous

Uses

Champaka flowers
Champaka flowersArrangement of flowers for puja (offering to a deity) including yellow champaka flowers (Magnolia champaca), in a market at the Shree Siddhivinayak Temple, Mumbai.

The joy perfume tree is also a source of timber, fuel, yellow dye, and traditional medicine. The tree’s wood is used for making boats, drums, and religious engravings. In India, however, where the tree is revered, it is rarely cut and can be found on the premises of Hindu temples. Its flowers are often used as offerings to deities. The tree is grown as an ornamental in several parts of the world.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Melissa Petruzzello.