Kanak Champa

Pterospermum acerifolium

A tall evergreen tree with roundish leaves that are shallowly lobed and contrasting leaf color between upper and beneath leaf surface, upper surface is dark green and smooth lower surface is pale brownish to whitish due to small hairs.

Bark: Greyish, smooth, turns darker and rough with age

Leaf: large 6-15’’long. Mature leaves shallowly lobed, pointed between lobes. Young leaves have a smaller number of much deeper lobes. Long (2/3^rd the length of leaf) leaf-stalks are attached to the leaves at somewhat inside (not at the edge of the leaf like most trees)

Flower: Large, highly and beautifully fragrant, pure white petals enclosed in a calyx covered with rusty down

Fruit: egg-shaped large woody capsule

Season: Leaves fall in late winter, but tree does not become totally leafless in Kolkata. Flowers from February to April, fruits take almost a year to mature

Range/habitat: Native of the foothills of the Himalayas, Assam, isolated population in Odissa, MP. Range continues eastwards through Chittagong, Myanmar, Thailand and Java.

Trivia and notes: The flower cups (sepal) are golden inside. Kanak means gold in Sanskrit - hence the name. Sepals are highly scented and retain some of the scent even after drying. It seems in earlier days people used to dry them and keep at home for not just the scent but as an insect repellant as well.

Where to Find: [In Rabindra Sarovar, Kolkata] One near Dhakuria gate side of Dhakuria Lake . One close to the diamond shaped memorial for AMRI fire victim. Another full-grown specimen behind the nets of CCCC (beside the path that connects to Southern Avenue). A closely related (and much rarer) species called Muchkund (Pterospermum suberifolium) is present on the footpath of Gariahat road just in front of Ramakrishna Mission (Aug '21, this tree is no more, probably died due Amphan super cyclone). In muchkund the leaves are smaller and longish. Also, muchkund is a smaller tree than kanak champa.