Tamanu: The Green Gold

The Tamanu tree has a unique nickname: God’s tree, and its fruit is known to be miraculously omnipotent among natives who live in the Pacific Islands region. It is also known as the ‘Green Gold. In India it is called the Sultan Champa.

The Tamanu is a plant indigenous to the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia region. Its scientific name is Calophyllum inophyllum. It comes from the Greek terms ‘kalos’ denoting beautiful and ‘phullon’ meaning leaf. In other words, the generic name of this species means the beautiful-leafed tree in Greek. Its other names include Beauty leaf or Alexandrian laurel. For a long time, it was wrongly considered as a plant native to French Polynesia. Nowadays, the Tamanu can be found in many archipelagos. In India, it is found in the states of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, West Bengal, Maharashtra and the Andamans. In India it is known as Sultan Champa in Hindi. While the Tamanu Tree can grow inland, it prefers salty, sandy soil, so it tends to grow profusely near the sea.

This tropical tree is a low-branching and slow-growing tree with a broad and irregular crown. It usually reaches 26 to 66 ft in height. The flower is 25 mm wide and occurs in paniculate inflorescences consisting of four to 15 flowers, but never more than 30 flowers. It has a massive trunk, knotted branches, a brown-black tree bark and red wood. Flowering can occur perennially, but usually two distinct flowering periods are observed, in late spring and in late autumn. All year round, the Tamanu tree provides spherical fruit – a small seed covered with a thin hull and edible pulp.

Before the Christianisation of the Polynesian people, the Tamanu was considered as a sacred tree. Thus, it was planted near the royal Marae (open temple). The story tells that the Polynesian Gods attended to the human sacred ceremonies (offering, sacrifice) comfortably installed in the shadow of the trees. The trees offered a place of tranquility away from prying eyes to the divinity.

Medicinal properties

In Southern India, the oil of the seeds of the plant is used specifically for treating skin diseases. It is also applied topically in cases of rheumatism. The oil may have been useful in waterproofing cloth and is used as a varnish. An extract from the fruit was once used to make a brown dye to colour cloth. The oil can also be used to make soap. The tamanu nut tree is also cultivated for providing shade as well as reforestation and afforestation – an initiative to reclaim soil. In many places, this tree is also planted along the shores because it has proved to be effective in preventing soil erosion by the sea. While the growth of Calophyllum inophyllum or the tamanu nut tree is very sluggish, it is very popular as a roadside plantation in India. In addition, this is also an attractive ornamental plant, as it has young foliage that is crimson in colour. Even the flowers of the tree are very aromatic.

In the most of the South Sea islands, Tamanu oil is used as an analgesic medicine (natives use it for sciatica and rheumatism) and to cure ulcers and bad wounds. It was also used as fuel to generate electricity to provide power for radios during World War II. A farmer in Nagappattinam district of Tamil Nadu has successfully used the oil as biodiesel to run his 5-hp pumpset.

Like the coconut tree, all parts of the Tamanu tree have a useful purpose. The wood is used to build houses and canoe outriggers. It is also used to make handcrafted objects as the famous Tiki (statue) or the Umete (traditional vase). After maceration, the leaves are used as an ophthalmic sedative. The leaves are also used to perfume the oil.

Miraculous oil

The most interesting part of the plant is the fruit. Indeed, the Tamanu fruit is used to produce a miraculous oil called the Tamanu oil. This oil preparation follows different steps. The fruit (the ballnut) is a round, green drupe measuring 2 to 4 cm  in diameter and having a single large seed.

When ripe, the fruit is wrinkled and its colour varies from yellow to brownish-red. First, the ripe fruits are lightly crushed to extract the seed. Then, the seeds are spread in thin layers on a drying area exposed to direct sunlight. During the drying step, the seeds have to be protected from any source of humidity. This period of slow drying allows the fruit to retain its oil content. After two months, the seeds are ready for extraction. The nuts yield 70-75% of the greenish-yellow inedible oil. Approximately 220 lbs of fruits are needed to produce 40 lb of oil.

Once extracted, the yellow-green oil is a miraculous product. Commercial uses of Tamanu oil are predominantly for skin care. The oil’s active elements are considered to renew the tissues and, hence, it is in much demand by industries manufacturing cosmetics as a valuable element in crèmes meant for skin treatment. In fact, the first neoflavone segregated by scientists in 1951 from natural reserves was calophyllolide obtained from the seeds of this tree.

The oil has both medicinal value and use as a fuel. It possesses numerous analgesic and healing properties. In Tahiti, it is used against allergies or skin diseases (burn, acne, herpes, stretch mark). All these benefits have been demonstrated in research studies and the Tamanu oil is now considered as a natural remedy.