Alexandrian Laurel

Overview

C. inophyllum is native to the ancient tropics of the world, from East Africa to Malesia, northern Australia and the Pacific Islands to southern coastal India. It is a multipurpose plant that is harvested for local use from the wild as a fruit, medicine and material source. The oil extracted from its seeds is globally traded as tamanu oil or foraha oil. It is valued for its white flowers that are reminiscent of orange blossom and are deliciously scented. Due to the level of exploitation, which is putting some pressure on wild stands, it has been classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (2011).

Vernacular Names

Hai-Tang-Guo (China), Zee-bintangor-boom (Dutch), Bintangor (French), Alexandrischer Lorbeer (German), Sultana Champa (India), Terihaboku (Japan),  Bintangor Laut (Malaysia), Palo Maria (Philippines), Krathing (Thailand), Ponnyet (Myanmar), Nyamplung, Dingkaran (Java, Sulawesi-Indonesia), Loureiro de Alexandria (Portuguese).

Agroecology

It can be found in maritime, littoral, and riparian areas in the warm tropics and subtropics with mean annual temperature of 18-33 °C. It grows naturally on rocky and sandy sea shores but it also has been successfully cultivated up to 800 m above sea level. It tolerates strong wind and drought but it is susceptible to bush fires. It prefers pH range of 4.4-4.7 and it is tolerant a wide range of soil but it grows best on well-drained and sandy soil.

Morphology

• Roots – without buttresses
• Bark - shallowly fissured longitudinally, light grey and fawn, usually thick, smooth, fibrous and laminated inner bark, pink to red, darkening to brownish when exposed.
• Leaves - leathery, shiny, elliptic to obovate-elliptic, 9 to 18 cm long, rounded to cuneate at base, rounded, retuse or subacute at apex, with 4-10 veins per 5 mm
• Flowers - fragrant, bisexual, white, borne on axillary racemes 5 to 10 cm long, usually unbranched but occasionally with 3-flowered branches. 
• Fruit - spherical to obovoid, yellow, smooth, pulpy, 25-50 mm in diameter. 
• Seed - large, brown 2–4 cm across and surrounded by a corky shell and thin pulp, brown, very oily.

Cultivation

Cultivation is mainly carried out by fresh seeds. Around 95% of them will germinate after 60 days when sown under shade and regular watering. Thirty days old seedlings are ready to be transplanted to polybag and they need to be hardened about 3 months before planted in the field.

Chemical Constituents

Coumarins, xanthones, triterpenes, steroids, flavanoidal glycosides, steroidal glycosides, benzoic acids, viscous oil, fatty acid, glycolipids, phospholipids, inophyllums, tannins, hydroxy-acid calophyllic acid, and chromanones. 

Traditional Medicinal Uses

• In many region, the latex and pounded bark are used in traditional medicine such as applied externally on wounds and ulcers. They are also used internally as a purgative, after childbirth and to treat gonorrhoea.
• In Indonesia, a cold infusion of the leaves is used to treat sore eyes, while in Philippines to treat haemorrhoids, and in Papua New Guinea against dysentery.
• People in Papua New Guinea heat the leaves to treat cuts, sores, ulcers, boils and skin rash, while in Cambodia, they use the leaves to treat migraine and vertigo.
• The oil extracted from the seed is popular in Papua New Guinea, Thailand, Indo-China and India to treat rheumatism, swellings, ulcers, scabies, ringworm, boils and itch.
• The flowers are used as heart tonic in Thailand.