Gin 



fl are 



Cmnamomum.] LXII. LAUEINE^E. 375 



are medicinal, and are sold under the name of tezpat, tajpat. (Pharm. Ind. 

 196.) 



Closely allied "to this species is G. zeylanicum, Breyn ; DC. Prodr. xv. i. 13 

 Syn. Laurus Cinnamomum, Roxb. ii. 295, the true or Ceylon Cinnamon-tvee, 

 distinguished by thick coriaceous leaves, pale beneath, with 3 main nerves from 

 the base, large terminal flower-panicles, and coriaceous calyx-lobes, without nerves, 

 separating at about the middle from the lower half, which is persistent. The 

 flowers have an unpleasant smell. The true Cinnamon is indigenous in the 

 forests of Ceylon, ascending to 8000 ft. Cultivated in Ceylon, and in other 

 tropical countries. According to Leschenault de la Tour, Memoires du Museum 

 d'histoire naturelle, viii. (1822), 436, and notes on the subject collected during 

 a late visit to Ceylon, which I owe to the kindness of Dr George King, the Cin- 

 namon tree in Ceylon is generally grown in irregular coppice- woods, pure or 

 mixed with other shrubs. Some of the stools are of great age and girth, and are 

 said to have been planted by the Dutch when they held the island. The for- 

 mation of fresh Cinnamon coppice is thus described by Leschenault de la Tour : 

 The tree flowers more or less throughout the year, but most abundantly in Jan., 

 Feb., and the fruit ripens from June to August. The seeds, which are oily, do 

 not long retain their vitality ; they are sown soon after ripening, either in nur- 

 series to be transplanted in Oct. or Nov., or on'the spot in plots about 1 ft. square 

 and 6-7 ft. apart. The plants attain 7-8 ft. in 6-7 years, and those which are 

 then fit to be peeled are cut, and the shoots which spring up are thinned out 

 when they are 2, 3, or 4 years old, or even at an earlier age. They are not cut 

 when less than % in., or more than 2^ in. diam. The whole growing crop in 

 one plot is never cut over at once, as would, for instance, be done in a regularly 

 managed Oak coppice-wood, but those shoots only are selected which appear 

 fit to be used, and are in such a state as to be peeled readily. The main 

 point attended to seems to be, to cut the shoots when quite young and tender; 

 it is said that the bark of the older shoots yields inferior Cinnamon (G. King). 

 The cutting is done during the rainy season, between May and October ; the 

 bark is peeled off after cutting in 3 or 4 long narrow strips from each shoot ; it 

 is then tied tightly together in parcels, and left for 24 hours. At the end of this 

 time the epidermis and the outer bark are removed, and the inner bark, which is 

 the aromatic and valuable part, is dried, the first day in the shade, the second 

 day in the sun, when it gradually rolls up, forming the quills of Cinnamon, 

 which are placed into each other and tied in bundles. The fruit of the Cinna- 

 mon tree is eaten greedily by crows, pigeons, and other birds ; the seeds pass 

 uninjured, and thus the spread and preservation of the tree is secured apart 

 from the planted coppice - woods. Indeed, formerly almost all Cinnamon 

 brought to market was from naturally-grown trees ; and to enable their Cinna- 

 mon collectors to enter the forests beyond the limits of their own possessions, the 

 Dutch concluded a treaty with the King of Candy : and it is said that planting 

 was only resorted to when the supply from natural sources had become deficient. 



The following species, among others, are described by Meissner in De Can- 

 dolle's Prodromus as distinct ; but they are so closely allied to the true Cin- 

 namon that Thwaites, Enum. PI. Zeyl. 253, and Bedd. Fl. Sylv. (under Cinn. 

 Wightii), consider them as mere varieties : 1. C. obtusifolium, Nees (Laurus ob- 

 tusifolia, Roxb. Fl. Ind. ii. 302), a large tree, as large as a Mango, with opposite, 

 thick coriaceous, elliptic-oblong leaves (6-12 in. long), which are often in fours 

 under the large terminal spreading panicles. Indigenous in East Bengal and 

 Burma. 2. C. iners, Reinward (L. nitida, Roxb., C. dubium, Nees) ; Wight Ic. 

 1. 130, 122, 122 (bis), and 135, lateral nerves and reticulation indistinct. South 

 India, Burma, East Bengal, Nepal, and (doubtfullv) Kamaon. 3. C. Wiglttii 

 Meissner ; Bedd. Fl. Sylv. t. 262. Nilgiris. 



