698 



Cinnamon Wood 



length of the petals, and fringed on the margin; corolla of 5 oblong petals 4.5 to 5 

 mm. long, blunt, concave, thick, fleshy, purple and deciduous; the stamens are 15 

 to 20, the filaments united into a tube 3 mm. high; anthers linear, 2-valved, open- 

 ing lengthwise; ovary cyhndric or oblong-conic; the style is short and fleshy, the 

 stigma 2- or 3-lobed. The fruit, which mostly ripens in the spring, is a crimson 

 subglobose berry 12 to 15 mm. in diameter, tipped by the persistent style and sub- 



FiG. 646. Cinnamon Wood. 



tended by the persistent calyx; seeds few, obovate to kidney-shaped, black and 

 shining, their endosperm copious. 



The wood is very hard, close-grained, and reddish brown; its specific gravity 

 is about 0.99. The berries are a favorite food of birds. The bark is largely used 

 in the tropics as a condiment and it is valued in medicine for its aromatic tonic 

 properties. The genus consists of 2 species, this one being the type. Canella 

 is the Spanish name of Cinnamon. 



