Cinnamomum verum Presl

കറുവപ്പട്ട

Family : LAURACEAE

Synonym : Cinnamomum zeylanicum Blume

Common Names : Edana, Kachakam, Karuva, Vayana, Cinnamon

Flowering Period : March – April

Distribution : South West India and Sri Lanka

Habitat : Evergreen and riparian forests, also cultivated

Uses : The bark of this tree is used as a spice seasoning for meat, sauces, baked goods and drinks. Oil extracted from the leaves is also used as a flavouring agent in snacks. Oil is extracted from the bark and used in pharmaceutical and dental preparations. Wood has very good working qualities.

Key Characters :

Trees, to 20 m high, bark brown, rough, cracks vertical. Leaves simple, ovate, elliptic ovate, margin entire.  Flowers bisexual, in terminal and axillary, pale yellow, silky, tube campanulate, lobes 6. Stamens 9 perfect, introrse; staminodes 3. Ovary half inferior, sessile. Fruit a berry, ellipsoid to oblong-ovoid, dark purple, surrounded by the enlarged perianth.