Location in BHU campus:Planted in the lawn of Malaviya Bhawan .
Botanical name : Michelia champaca L.
Family : Magnoliaceae
Vernacular / local Name : Bengali & Hindi - Champa, champaca; Gujarati - Champo, raechampo, pitochampo; Kannada – Sampige, kola - sampige; Malayalam - Champakam; Marathi – Pivala - champa, sona - champa, kud - champa; Oriya - Chompa, Chompoko, kanchana; Sanskrit - Champaka; Tamil – Shanpagam ; Telugu - champakamu.
English names : Champak.
A tall evergreen tree up to 30 m in height and 3 m in girth, with a cylindrical bole ; bark grey or brownish. Leaves lanceolate ,wavy margined and coriaceous. Flowers usually axillary, yellowish and fragrant. Fruit is a long cluster of capsules on a spike.Capsules dark brown and open into two halves.
Flowering :April-June
Fruiting :July-August
Flowers are source of champa oil or champaca oil, which is highly esteemed in perfumery. Flowers yield a yellow dye. Fruits are eaten. Bark contains tannins and chewed with betel. Flowers, flower oil, bark, dried roots as well as the root-bark are of medicinal value. Wood is used for veneers, furniture, carving etc.
Vaman Purana suggested use of these flowers for worshipping Vishnu . The leaves are offered to Lord Shiva and Gowri on Nitya somavara Vrata and Vishnu on Vaikunta Chaturdhashi Vrata . The yellow fragrant flowers are offered at Hindu shrines. The flowers are used in religious ceremonies. The tree is often grown near Hindu and Jain temples as it bears fragrant flowers.