Bitaog
Calophyllum inophyllum · Alexandrian laurel
- Names in the book
- Palo Maria, Sp.-Fil.; Bitanhol, Tamawian, Dankalan, Dinkalin, Tag.; Dankalan Bitaog, Vis., Pam., Bik.
- Used for
- Cough and asthmaStomach and digestionWounds, burns and boilsJoint pain, sprains and swellingEyes and ears
- Colours
- flowerwhitestamensyellowfruitgreen
- Native range
- Coasts from East Africa to the Pacific
- In the Philippines, per the book
- It is found in central Luzon and in the Provinces of Tayabas, La Union and Ilocos. Blooms in November.
- Family
- Calophyllaceae, filed in the book under Guttiferæ
- Printed as
- Calophyllum Inophyllum, L.
- Sources
- Page 38 on Project Gutenberg · Wikipedia
The plant today
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. It is also a source of the culturally important tamanu oil.
Excerpt from “Calophyllum inophyllum” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Recorded in the Philippines
GBIF holds 241 records of this plant from the Philippines. The ones with map coordinates fall in 23 provinces, most often Batanes (13), Davao Oriental (8), Palawan (8), Laguna (7), Aklan (6), Bataan (5), Metropolitan Manila (5), Quezon (5), and 15 more.
Counts from GBIF occurrence records, October 2026. They include planted trees and garden plants, and a province with no records may only lack collectors.
What the 1901 book says
A historical record, quoted as printed. Doses and remedies here are not medical advice.
Uses
From the seeds of the fruit there exudes a yellowish-green oil, bitter and aromatic. It is used in some districts for illuminating purposes. Its density is 0.942 and its point of solidification 5° above zero. In India it is used by inunction in rheumatism and in the Philippines locally over the stomach in indigestion and colic. The bark of the tree when incised exudes a green resin of a very agreeable odor, which is used as an application to wounds and old sores. In India it is used in the same way. This resin is fusible and dissolves completely in alcohol. It has been mistaken for the tacamahaca of India, which, however, is a product of the C. calaba, L. Mixed with equal parts of pitch and wax it is applied to the chest as a plaster in bronchitis. A decoction of the leaves is used for purulent ophthalmia in some parts of India and Mauritius. The pounded bark is applied locally in orchitis and epididymitis. We have had occasion to use a mixture of equal parts of the resin with white vaseline spread on linen and applied between the shoulder blades; in the persistent cough of senile bronchitis the relief was marked.
Botanical description
A large tree with beautiful, dark green leaves 4–5′ long, opposite, entire, large, oval with nerves numerous, fine and perpendicular to the midrib. Petioles very short. Flowers large, white, sweet-scented, axillary, in racemes of 7–9. Calyx white, of 4 sepals. Corolla white, of 4 petals. Stamens numerous, polyadelphous. Ovary rudimentary in the male flower; unilocular and uniovulate in the female. Style single and large. Drupe superior, with a hard, bony pit, containing a thicker, softer substance which envelopes a seed of like consistency.
Recent research
The most cited papers since 2022 that name this plant in the title, pulled from Europe PMC in October 2026. Titles are the authors' own and the findings have not been reviewed here.
- Identification of Antioxidant Metabolites from Five Plants (Calophyllum inophyllum, Gardenia taitensis, Curcuma longa, Cordia subcordata, Ficus prolixa) of the Polynesian Pharmacopoeia and Cosmetopoeia for Skin Care
- Optimisation of Calophyllum inophyllum seed oil nanoemulsion as a potential wound healing agent
- Enhancement of wound healing by a bilayer hydrogel and nanofiber scaffold infused with Calophyllum inophyllum oil and Platostoma palustre aqueous extract