[7][8] The tree is native to the Indomalayan realm, consisting of South Asia, Southeast Asia−Indochina, and southern China.

[4] It is native to the Maldives, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

In Theravada Buddhism, champaca is said to have been used as the tree for achieving enlightenment, or Bodhi, by the fourteenth Buddha called "Aththadassi – අත්ථදස්සි".

According to Tibetan beliefs, the Buddha of the next era will find enlightenment under the white flower canopy of the champaca tree.

They are primarily used in worship ceremonies, whether at home or out in temples, they are also more generally worn in hair by girls and women as a means of beauty ornament as well as a natural perfume.

Flowers are floated in bowls of water to scent the room, as a fragrant and colourful decoration for bridal beds, and for garlands.

[5] The species is protected from logging in some states of India, especially in the Southwestern region, where certain groves are considered sacred by Hindus and Buddhists.