Description: An evergreen aromatic tree with smooth bark, glossy leaves and small flowers. The inner bark is the commercially important cinnamon spice.

Identification: Aromatic bark; leathery leaves with characteristic venation; small pale flowers; small fruits.

Habitat & distribution: Native to Sri Lanka and widely cultivated, including in India. Kew treats Cinnamomum zeylanicum as a synonym of C. verum.

Uses / importance: Bark is widely used as a spice and in traditional medicine. The tree also has ornamental and ecological value.

Taxonomy:
Kingdom – Plantae
Clade – Angiosperms
Clade – Magnoliids
Order – Laurales
Family – Lauraceae
Genus – Cinnamomum
Species – C. verum

Sources: Kew POWO; IPNI.