The genus Cinnamomum

C. deschampsii Gamble
C. deschampsii Gamble in Kew Bull. 219, 1910; J. Asiat. soc. Bengal, 80, 1912; Ridley
in Agri. Bull. Straits & FMS,10, 235, 1911; Fl. Malay Pen., 3, 93, 1924; Calder et al.
in Rec. Bot. sur. India 11(1), 29, 1926; Burkill, Dict. Eco. prod. Malay Pen. 1, 550,
1935; Corner in Gard. Bull. Straits Settl.10, 276, 1939.
This species occurs in the Malaysian region. All parts of the tree are aromatic, having
a pleasant flavour similar to the Chinese cassia. It is used as a substitute for cassia
and cinnamon by natives. It is a bushy tree, leaves coriaceous, blade oblong to elliptical
ovate 7.5–15 cm 5–7 cm. Inflorescence is a lax spreading panicle with silky flowers;
fruit is about 1 cm long. The chemical composition has not been worked out.
C. glanduliferum Nees (Nepal Camphor wood or Nepal Sassafras)
C. glanduliferum Nees in Wallich, Pl. Ag. var. 2, 72, 1831; Meissner in DC., Prodr. 15(1)
25, 1864; Baillon, Hist. Pl. 2, 461, 1872; Steward and Brandis, For. Fl. N.W. India 376,
1874; Gamble, List of Trees and Shrubs in Darjeeling Dist, 64,1878; Man. Ind. Timb;
306, 1881; Horkerf. Fl. Brit. India 1886; Staub, Geschichte Genus Cinnamomum 1905;
Strachey, Cat. Plants Kumaon 154, 1906; Brandis, Ind. Trees 534, 1906; Bassu, Ind.
Med. Plants, 830, 1918; Burkill in Rec. Bot. Surv. India 10(2), 351, 1925; Dict. Eco.
Pro. Malay Pen. 1, 550, 1935 (See Kostermans (1964) for full citation).
It is a small tree distributed in the central Himalayas and Khasi hills of north India.
Its bark is rough and pale brown, the wood when cut has a strong smell of camphor.
The wood contains d-camphor and is a substitute for sassafras. The timber is used for
cabinet making and is also useful for carving. Leaves and twigs on distillation gives
0.6–1% of an essential oil having a strong smell of camphor. The oil from various
sources has the following characteristics (Anon, 1950): Sp. gravity. 0.9024–0.9058;
[] 20° D – 23°0 to 24°57; n 20 – 1.4685; saponification value – 11.1; sap. value after
acetylation–39.7; solubility: in 80% alcohol.
The chief constituents are cineole (34%), -terpineol (10%) and camphor. The seed
kernels contain a fat to the extent of 27–30%, having d 0.9156; n 40 -21.5–22.0°;
solidifying temp. – 14.5–19.0°; m.p – 21.5–22.0°; acid value – 1.94; saponification
value – 287.02; iodine value – 3.76 (Anon, 1950).
The oil can be used as a substitute for sassafras oil (from the roots of Sassafras officinale)
in the soap and perfume industries.
C. glaucescens (Wall.ex Nees) Drury.
Other Useful Species of Cinnamomum 337
C. glaucescens Drury, Handb. Ind. Fl.3:55, 1869; St. Lager in Ann. Soc. Bot. Lyon 7:122;
Yamada in Trans. Nat. Hist. Soc. Formosa 17, 440 1927.
This species occurs in Nepal and the adjoining areas and is the well-known Nepal
Sugandha kokila used extensively by local people as a spice, in medicine, in flavouring
tobacco, etc. The commercial Sugandha kokila oil is steam distilled from the fruits.
Adhikary et al. (1992) studied the oil hydrodistilled from pericarp as well as from the
whole fruit using chromatographic and spectroscopic methods.
Major components of the whole fruit oil are 1,8-cineole (13%), methyl cinnamate
(14%), alphaterpineol (7%), and many mono and sesqinterpene hydrocarbons. The
pericarp oil consists mainly of 1,8-cineole (50%) and alphaterpineol (10%), along with