Common Name: Batavia Cinnamon

General Information

Cinnamomum burmannii is an evergreen shrub or small tree growing up to 20 metres tall. The bole can be 12 - 40cm in diameter[, , ].
The tree is harvested from the wild for a range of uses, including as a spice, medicine and source of essential oils and wood. The bark is traded, both locally and internationally, whilst the plant is also cultivated for this bark, especially in Java and Sumatra[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

E. Asia - southern China, India, Malaysia to Indonesia and the Philippines.

Habitat

Sparse or dense forests and thickets, roadsides along streams at elevations of 100 - 1400 metres in southern China[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	15.00 m
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of the moist tropics, where it is found at elevations up to 2,000 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 20 - 28°c, but can tolerate 11 - 34°c[]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 2,000 - 2,500mm, but tolerates 1,800 - 3,500mm[]. It grows best at an elevation between 500 - 1,500 metres, with an evenly distributed annual rainfall of 2,000 - 2,500mm[].
Prefers a fertile, sandy, moisture-retentive but freely draining soil in full sun or partial shade[]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6, tolerating 5 - 7[].
The inner bark is fragrant[].
Trees are ready for their first harvest when about 5 years old and can then yield economic harvests for about 20 years[].
Average-sized trees yield about 3 kg of stem bark and 1.5 kg of branch bark[]. In a crop cycle of 10 years, the total yield is about 2 t/ha of bark[].

Edible Uses

The dried bark of the trunk is much used as a spice, especially in the Netherlands and the USA[]. It is used as a substitute for cassia bark(Cinnamomum cassia)[]. A good cinnamon substitute[].
In Sabah, the bark is used for cooking, as a condiment, and is eaten fresh as snack[].

The leaves are used as a tea[].

Medicinal

The bark is antibacterial, antispasmodic, carminative, stomachic, sedative, sialagogue, vasodilatory[].It is used in the treatment of conditions such as traumatic injuries, abdominal pain, anaemia, lumbago and arthralgia[, ].

The bark contains essential oils (especially phellandrene, eugenol, cinnamic aldehyde, methyleugenol), mucilage and tannins[].

Powdered cassia bark is listed in the British Herbal Pharmacopoeia as a specific remedy for flatulent dyspepsia or colic with nausea[]. The barks of various species in this genus are well-known folk medicines for a long list of ailments such as diarrhoea, gripe, malaria, coughs and chest complaints[].

In European phytomedicine, cassia oil (0.05-0.2 g daily intake) is used in teas and other galenicals for its antibacterial, carminative, and fungistatic properties, and also for loss of appetite and dyspeptic disturbances[].

Other Uses

The bark contains 1 - 4% of an essential oil[]. The oil is a colourless to brownish-yellow liquid, mainly consisting of cinnamaldehyde, and lacking eugenol, it is used in soaps and perfumes[]. Also used as an incense[].
The leafy branchlets contain essential oils[]. Three types of the oil are found in Yunnan: linalol type (linalol ca.
57%), citral type (citral ca. 77%), and cineole type (cineole ca. 47%)[].

The sapwood is yellowish. the wood is heavy, soft, finely grained, and used for house construction[, , ].
There are a number of tree species (including this one) from Malaysia that are in the family Lauraceae and produce a useful timber that is either not distinct enough in itself, or is in insufficient supply, to warrant being traded individually. These various species have been lumped together under the trade name ‘medang’[].
We do not have any more information about the wood from this species, but a general description of medang timber is as follows:-
The heartwood is very variable, from light-straw to red-brown and olive brown; the sapwood is ill-defined. The texture is moderately fine but even; the grain interlocked or wavy; the surface dull. The wood is not durable. It is easy to slightly difficult to resaw, and easy to moderately easy to cross-cut; easy to plane and the surface produced is smooth to moderately smooth. It is suitable for decorative work such as interior finishing, panelling, furniture and cabinet making. It is also suitable for plywood manufacture, whilst the heavier species are suitable for medium construction under cover[]

Propagation

Seed - the seed of species in this genus generally has a short viability and is best sown as soon in containers as it is ripe[]. Remove the fruit pulp since this can inhibit germination[]. Soaking the seeds for 24 hours in lukewarm water hastens germination[], which can take 1 - 6 months at 20°c[]. The germination rate of fresh seed is about 50%, falling to 25% for seed 6 months old, and zero for those 1 year old[]. Stored seed should be sown as soon as possible in containers[]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out into their permanent positions when 10cm or more tall.
Cuttings of semi-ripe side shoots, 7cm with a heel, in a frame with bottom heat[].

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