LAURACEAE 151 



Cinnamomum camphora (L) Nees and Ebermaier. 



(Launis camphora Linnaeus.) 



(Camphora officinarvm Nees.) 

 / 

 True Camphor or " Chang shu." 



An evergreen tree occasionally attaining 30 m. in height and 2-2.5 m. 

 in diameter of trunk, usually much smaller. The bark of the trunk is 

 smooth and green, that of young branches is glabrous and shining. Buds 

 scaly. 



Leaves alternate, on slender pliant petioles about 2.5 cm. in length. 

 Leaves thick, stiff, bright green, smooth and polished above, pale green 

 or with a conspicuous glaucous bloom beneath, pinkish when unfolding, 

 the margin entire. They are generally oval, 8-15 cm. long, acuminate, 

 tapering to both ends or sometimes abruptly acuminate at the apex or 

 rounded or heart shaped at the base, appearing trinerved because of the 

 size and prominence of the two lowest lateral nerves or veins which curve 

 and run some distance nearly parallel to the edges. In the axils of these 

 and other principal veins are distinct punctate glands which are visible 

 on both surfaces. 



Flowers perfect, greenish-white or yellowish, very small, on slender 

 branching pedicels, forming small, spreading cymes of 2 or 3 arranged in 

 small, erect, long-stalked, axillary panicles shorter than the leaves. 

 Perianth with a short, thick, fleshy tube and 6 imbricate, nearly equal, 

 blunt and thick, horizontally spreading segments, smooth externally, 

 densely hairy on the inside, becoming deciduous and falling from the tube. 

 Stamens 9; staminodes usually 6; stamens erect, shorter than the perianth 

 segments and the 6 outer stamens opposite the 3 outer perianth segments, 

 extrorse and provided at the base with a large, stalked, thick, obcordate 

 gland on either side. Filament hairy. Anthers large, oblong, 4-celled, 

 with valvular dehiscence. Staminodes in 2 rows of 3 each, stalked, 

 oblong or sagittate, the outer 3 having 2 glands at the base of each, 

 resembling those of the inner stamens. Ovary free from, but surrounded 

 by, the perianth tube; 1-celled and 1-ovuled. Style slender, as long as 

 the stamens, stigma small. Fruit a drupe, ovoid or globular, about 6 

 mm. in diameter or the size of a large pea, smooth, purplish or black 

 (some writers have described it as red), surrounded at the base by the 



