Cajuput (Melaleuca cajuputi)

Kayu putih or cajuput (Melaleuca cajuputi) is a tree in Myrtaceae as a medium to upper tree with thin skin and white, long slender green leaves and white flowers. This plant has important uses in agroforestry as a source of cajuput oil.

Cajuput is spread naturally in Indonesia and northern Australia. Indonesians traditionally use leaves to be distilled into essential oils of high economic value. This plant has a long biological cycle, grows fast and grows well in any soil with high salts or acids and is fire resistant.

M. cajupati was divided into three subspecies: Melaleuca cajuputi cajuputi growing in Maluku and Timor islands, Melaleuca cajuputi cumingiana growing in Sumatra, Java and Kalimantan, while Melaleuca cajuputi platyphylla growing in Papua, Aru Islands and Tanimbar Islands.

M. c. cajuputi generally produces cajuput oil with a 1.8-cineol content and high yield. While the other two sub-species have lower levels of cineol. Kayu putih oil from the Maluku Islands has a concentration of 1.8 sineol around 50% - 60% and high yield.

Volatile kayu putih oil where on a hot day people will smell it remotely. Oil is extracted through evaporation mainly from leaves and twigs as an industrial product for balur oil or a mixture of other medicinal oils or a mixture of perfume and other household products.

Generally these plants are found as pure stands and grow in the lowlands. The difference in location of growing and geographical places influences differences in flowering, fertilization and growth times, but the influence of the environment for growth, oil and reproduction characteristics still needs further research.

Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Melaleuca
Species: M. cajuputi
Subspecies: M. c. cajuputi, M. c. cumingiana and M. c. platyphylla

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