Common Name: Wild Cinnamon

General Information

Wild cinnamon is an attractive, small to medium-sized, very slow-growing evergreen shrub or tree with a dense crown; it can reach a height of 15 metres. The short bole can be 12 - 20cm in diameter[, , ]
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food flavouring and medicine. It is sometimes grown as an ornamental, valued especially for the numerous bright red berries it bears[].

Known Hazards

Although this plant is not generally regarded as toxic, the leaves and stems proved to be toxic to poultry during feeding trials[].

Botanical References

,

Range

N. America - southern Florida to the West Indies and northeastern S. America.

Habitat

Coastal thickets, hammocks, commonly found on limestone or calcareous soils at around sea level[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	15.00 m
Growth Rate	Slow
Pollinators	Bees
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Succeeds in the tropics and subtropics, usually in drier areas.
Requires a well-drained soil[].
All parts of the plant are fragrant[].
The flowers are bisexual but they mature their male and female organs at different times. Thus they are functionally unisexual, because normally all flowers on a plant are at the same stage (either male or female) at any given time[].
If the flowers are dried and then rehydrated in warm water, they emit a musk aroma[].

Edible Uses

The inner bark, which has an aroma of cinnamon and cloves, is used locally as a substitute for cinnamon or as a condiment in its own right[]. Very pungent, it has a bitter flavour[, ]. The bark contains 8% manitol, an essential oil containing eugenol, cineol, pinene and caryophyllene[].

The aromatic leaves are used as a flavouring[]. Aromatic, with a peppery, stinging taste[].

Medicinal

The bark is aromatic, stimulant, stomachic and tonic[, ]. Rarely used in modern herbalism[].

Other Uses

The heartwood is blackish, the sapwood olive brown. The wood is very hard and very heavy. It is seldom utilized in Puerto Rico, except for posts, because of the small size of the trees. It has been used elsewhere for ploughs, poles, and beams[].

Propagation

Seed -

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