Species
+

Calophyllum inophyllum L.

Alexandrian Laurel, Alexandrian-laurel, Beach Calophyllum, Beautyleaf

Climate known 90 photographs
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Every figure on this page is derived from public data by a stated rule and says its source; nothing here is written by a person or a model, except the Wikipedia passage, which is quoted and marked as such. How it is made.

Summary

Calophyllum inophyllum is a large evergreen plant, commonly called tamanu, oil-nut, mastwood, beach calophyllum or beautyleaf. It is native to the Old World Tropics, from Africa through Asia to Australia and Polynesia. Due to its importance as a source of timber for the traditional shipbuilding of large outrigger ships, it has been spread in prehistoric times by the migrations of the Austronesian peoples to the islands of Oceania and Madagascar, along with other members of the genus Calophyllum. It has since been naturalized in regions of the East African coast. More on Wikipedia ›

The opening of Wikipedia, “Calophyllum inophyllum”, CC BY-SA 4.0, quoted as written. Kept separate from everything derived here.

About the genus · Calophyllum

Calophyllum is a genus of tropical flowering plants in the family Calophyllaceae. They are mainly distributed in Asia, with some species in Africa, the Americas, Australasia, and the Pacific Islands.

Text from Wikipedia, “Calophyllum”, CC BY-SA 4.0, quoted as written.

Family
Calophyllaceae
Described by
L.
Native to
Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique +58
Wild records
1191 in range· 712 open

At a glance

Warmest month
28°C
Mar, mean day; nights 25 °C (CHELSA)
Rain
2181mm/yr
12 wet months · peak Jan 244 mm (CHELSA)
Light
31–36DLI
mol/m²/day, winter to summer, open sky (CHELSA shortwave)
In short condensed by rule from the cultivation cards · not written by a person
Rain rule: no season, 70% of the rain takes 8 months (October to May at the habitat (not shifted)). Habitat rain 2181 mm a year, wettest January at 244 mm, driest August at 144 mm (habitat calendar, southern hemisphere). Open sky over the habitat: 31 to 36 mol/m²/day. Cold floor 19.6 °C (1st-percentile habitat night, NASA POWER).
Each sentence is one card's own one-line form, written by the same rule as the card (Its year, Rain, Light, Temperature); the note cannot say what a card does not. Months are given for the northern hemisphere (set your site in Settings to change this), and the habitat's own alongside. The cards · the figures.

Also known as Balsamaria bintagor Roxb.; Balsamaria inophyllum (L.) Lour.; Calophyllum apetalum Blanco; Calophyllum bingator Roxb.; Calophyllum bintagor Roxb. and 8 more.

Cultivation

Its year Rain rule: no season, 70% of the rain takes 8 months (October to May at the habitat (not shifted)).

This species’ habitat figures, and what two fixed rules read from them.

The rain rule reads no season: 70% of the year's rain (1572 mm of 2181 mm) takes 8 months, October to May. Mean temperature moves 1.1 °C between the warmest and coldest month. Months are the habitat's, southern hemisphere; with a flat temperature curve there is no season to reverse, so they are not shifted for a collection elsewhere.

Read from the median year of CHELSA monthly rainfall and mean temperature across the envelope cells: the rain rule takes the smallest set of months carrying 70% of the rain and calls it winter when its mean is more than half a degree below the year's, summer when more than that above, and neither in between; the temperature rule, used only under 120 mm, names the cooler six months when they are at least a degree cooler than the other six. Months are shifted for the other hemisphere only where the temperature curve gives a season to reverse. A reading of the curves, not an observation of the plant.

Rain Habitat rain 2181 mm a year, wettest January at 244 mm, driest August at 144 mm (habitat calendar, southern hemisphere).

This species’ habitat figures, with their source.

2181 mm a year at the habitat, 1572 mm of it October to May. Wettest month January at 244 mm, driest August at 144 mm. Across the envelope cells the year's total runs 1198 mm to 3656 mm (10th to 90th percentile of each cell's own year) (median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA; habitat calendar, southern hemisphere).

CHELSA monthly precipitation, median year across the envelope cells. The rain that falls where the species is recorded; nothing about how the plant takes water.

Light Open sky over the habitat: 31 to 36 mol/m²/day.

This species’ habitat figures, with their source.

Open sky over the habitat: 31 to 36 mol/m²/day across the year (daily light integral, median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA; the lowest 10th-percentile month across the cells is 22, the highest 90th-percentile month 44).

CHELSA shortwave radiation at each envelope cell, a daily-mean flux taken to a daily total and converted at 2.07 mol of PAR per MJ. The sky over the habitat, measured; what reaches a plant under a rock, a shrub or a shade cloth is not.

Warmth and air Cold floor 19.6 °C (1st-percentile habitat night, NASA POWER).

This species’ habitat figures, with their source.

Temperature

Coldest: the 1st-percentile night over 44 years at the typical cell is 19.6 °C, the absolute minimum 17.5 °C, no frost in 44 years (NASA POWER daily minima). Warmest: the 99th-percentile day is 29.6 °C. Monthly means: coldest night 23.8 °C in November (across the envelope cells 21.0 °C to 25.8 °C), warmest day 27.7 °C in March (median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA). Cold floor: 19.6 °C, which is the 1st-percentile night over 44 years at the typical cell (NASA POWER).

NASA POWER daily minima and maxima 1981–2024 at the typical cell, lapse-corrected to its elevation; CHELSA monthly means, median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA. The cold floor is the figure named in its sentence. Not a measured survival limit for any plant in a pot.

Humidity

Relative humidity at the habitat: 64 to 65% across the year (monthly means, median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA). A figure about the air, saying nothing about how the plant takes water.

CHELSA relative humidity, median year across the envelope cells.

The figures the cards read from are in Climate below, and where they came from in Natural habitat.

Climate across the habitat

Habitat climate through the yearMean day from 27 °C in Jul to 28 °C in Mar; mean night from 24 °C in Nov to 25 °C in Feb. The cold quarter, Oct to Dec, is the three months around the coldest night. 2181 mm of rain a year, most in Jan. The bands show the 10th to 90th percentile across 728 habitat cells. Over 44 years at the typical cell the absolute minimum was 17.5 °C and the 99th-percentile day 29.6 °C; neither is dated to a month. Beneath: daily light integral and relative humidity through the year, each on its own scale.15°20°25°30°35°29.6° 99th-percentile day (undated)17.5° lowest night in 44 yrs (undated)°C · day and nightcold quarter0100200300400500mm rainDLI 31–36RH 64–65 %JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
day night rain 10th–90th percentile across 728 habitat cells cold quarter: the three months around the coldest night extremes over 44 years at the typical cell, marked at the edge: undated DLI, mol/m²/dayRH %each on its own scale
Figures by month
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Day °C27 / 22–2928 / 23–2928 / 24–3028 / 24–3127 / 24–3027 / 23–3027 / 22–3027 / 22–3027 / 23–3027 / 24–2927 / 24–2927 / 23–29
Night °C25 / 18–2625 / 19–2625 / 20–2625 / 21–2625 / 21–2625 / 19–2724 / 18–2724 / 18–2624 / 20–2624 / 21–2624 / 21–2624 / 19–26
Rain mm244 / 23–460224 / 25–473213 / 34–419185 / 58–345180 / 54–319155 / 44–371151 / 38–390144 / 34–383159 / 33–357164 / 47–326166 / 62–323196 / 38–358
DLI35 / 24–4136 / 27–4036 / 32–4134 / 30–4233 / 25–4231 / 23–3831 / 24–3933 / 27–3835 / 31–4036 / 29–4335 / 26–4433 / 22–43
RH %65 / 59–6965 / 60–6964 / 60–6965 / 61–6964 / 60–6864 / 59–6964 / 59–6964 / 59–6964 / 60–6864 / 60–6864 / 60–6864 / 59–69

Each figure is the median across the 728 grid cells holding the 1150 in-range records, with the 10th–90th percentile span across those cells after the slash where it differs. Extremes and elevation were read at the typical cell 1373:437 (21.325, -158.125). Over 44 years there: absolute minimum 17.5 °C, 1st-percentile night 19.6 °C, 99th-percentile day 29.6 °C. Normals: CHELSA V2.1 1981–2010 climatology, 0.05° cells (each the mean of ~36 1 km pixels). Envelope: median and 10th–90th percentile of each month across the 728 distinct grid cells holding the 1150 in-range records; extremes and elevation at the typical cell 1373:437 (its coldest month's mean night nearest the median across cells); its position is the cell centre. Extremes: NASA POWER (MERRA-2) daily 1981–2024, cell 21.50_-158.125, lapse-corrected -60 m at 6.5 °C/km. Elevation: ETOPO 2022, 18 m (cell mean).

Natural habitat

Native range as published by WCVP; the marker is where the records are densest and decides nothing: the climate was read across every in-range record's cell, not at the marker.
Openly licensed records inside the range, framed on where they fall.
NativeKenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Aldabra, Chagos Archipelago, Comoros, Mauritius, Mozambique Channel Is., Madagascar, Réunion, Rodrigues, Seychelles, Hainan, Kazan-retto, Nansei-shoto, Ogasawara-shoto, Taiwan, Bangladesh, India, Laccadive Is., Maldives, Sri Lanka, Andaman Is., Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Nicobar Is., South China Sea, Thailand, Vietnam, Borneo, Cocos (Keeling) I., Jawa, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, Philippines, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Christmas I., Bismarck Archipelago, New Guinea, Solomon Is., Queensland, Fiji, Gilbert Is., Nauru, Niue, New Caledonia, Samoa, Santa Cruz Is., Tokelau-Manihiki, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis-Futuna Is., Cook Is., Caroline Is., Marianas, Marshall Is., Hawaii· introduced: Gambia, The, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Gulf of Guinea Is., Phoenix Is., Line Is., Marquesas, Pitcairn Is., Society Is., Tuamotu, Tubuai Is., Florida, Costa Rica, C. American Pacific Is., Nicaragua, Bermuda, Cuba, Leeward Is. AB Ant, Puerto Rico, Trinidad-Tobago
Kew's description“tree” · “wet tropical”· quoted from WCVP, RBG Kew (CC BY 4.0); not derived here
Map marker-16.935, 145.983 · in the densest population, 185 records (16% of those in range)
Evidence usedThe map marker and the climate envelope rest on all 1191 georeferenced records inside the native range; the map shows only the 712 openly licensed ones, which alone would put the marker 9912 km away. 329 records outside the range (gardens, roadsides, misidentifications) ignored. 41 in-range records are placed to worse than 10 km and stay on the map but off the climate.
The map markerthe map marker: the openly licensed record nearest the middle of the densest 1° population inside the densest 4° block of the 1191 in-range records; it decides nothing.

Photographs

Calophyllum inophyllumCalophyllum inophyllumCalophyllum inophyllumCalophyllum inophyllumCalophyllum inophyllumCalophyllum inophyllumCalophyllum inophyllumCalophyllum inophyllum

Photographs: (c) Ramesh Shenai, some rights reserved (CC BY) (4); (c) Hamas Fathani, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) (2); (c) Thomas Mesaglio, some rights reserved (CC BY) (2).

Photographs: iNaturalist did not answer when this page was built; what is shown came from the sources that did.

Papers naming this species

Works whose title or abstract names Calophyllum inophyllum, most cited first, from OpenAlex (CC0). A mention, not a cultivation source: nothing on this page is drawn from them.

The Ideal Vegetable Oil-based Biodiesel Composition: A Review of Social, Economical and Technical Implications
S. Pinzi, Isabel López García, F.J. López-Giménez, M. D. Luque de Castro (2009) · Energy & Fuels
Comparison of palm oil, Jatropha curcas and Calophyllum inophyllum for biodiesel: A review
Hwai Chyuan Ong, T.M.I. Mahlia, H.H. Masjuki, R.S. Norhasyima (2011) · Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
The inophyllums, novel inhibitors of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase isolated from the Malaysian tree, Calophyllum inophyllum Linn
Ashok D. Patil, Alan J. Freyer, Drake S. Eggleston, R. Curtis Haltiwanger (1993) · Journal of Medicinal Chemistry
Optimization of biodiesel production and engine performance from high free fatty acid Calophyllum inophyllum oil in CI diesel engine
Hwai Chyuan Ong, H.H. Masjuki, T.M.I. Mahlia, A.S. Silitonga (2014) · Energy Conversion and Management
Biodiesel production from Calophyllum inophyllum-Ceiba pentandra oil mixture: Optimization and characterization
Hwai Chyuan Ong, Jassinnee Milano, A.S. Silitonga, Masjuki Haji Hassan (2019) · Journal of Cleaner Production

Similar habitat climate the 6 species whose habitat climate is nearest this one's: mean day and night, month by month, and rain on a log scale, in calendar order, so a habitat with the same seasons six months out is far, not near. Nothing else counts: not range, not family.

History & registers

Where this page came from built 2026-09-20 · dossier v2 · node
gbif.species answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-20 (offline re-derivation; the backbone was not asked)
gbif.synonyms answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-20 (offline re-derivation; the backbone was not asked)
gbif.vernacular answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-20 (offline re-derivation; the backbone was not asked)
wcvp.distribution answered
gbif.occurrences answeredGBIF occurrence download https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.3h4zam
climate answered
wikidata answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-20 (rederive); that build: carried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive); that build: carried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive)
wikipedia answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-20; this build: skipped
inat.taxon not askedcarried from build of 2026-09-20 (rederive)
inat.photos.wild answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-20; this build: skipped
inat.photos.cultivated nothing to reportcarried from build of 2026-09-20 (rederive); that build: carried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive); that build: carried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive)
commons nothing to reportcarried from build of 2026-09-20 (rederive); that build: carried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive); that build: carried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive)
gbif.media answered
openalex answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-20; this build: skipped

Every upstream is recorded as having answered, reported nothing, or refused. Only “nothing to report” is ever shown as an absence. Records came from 125 datasets via GBIF.org; each carries its own licence.