Common Name:

General Information

Cinnamomum iners is a medium-sized evergreen tree with a bushy, rounded crown; it can grow from 4 - 30 metres tall. The straight, cylindrical bole can be up to 60 cm in diameter[, ].
The plant is sometimes gathered from the wild as a food flavouring or medicine, whilst its wood is used locally and also traded[]. The tree is sometimes planted as an ornamental and to provide shade[, ], and is grown in reforestation projects in Thailand[]..

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Southeast Asia - Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines.

Habitat

An understorey tree of undisturbed to slightly disturbed mixed dipterocarp and sub-montane forests at elevations up to 1,800 metres[, ]. Mostly on hillsides and along rivers[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	23.00 m
Growth Rate	Fast
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of the moist tropics, found at low to moderate elevations with occasional specimens found as high as 2,400 metres[].
Plants are very tolerant of poor soils in the wild, where they still grow fairly rapidly[].
A fast-growing tree[].

Edible Uses

An essential oil from the leaves is used for flavouring sweets and confectionery[, ]. The essential oil is rich in eugenol, terpene and cinnamic aldehyde[].

The bark is sometimes used together with the leaves in tea, and also used as an inferior substitute for cinnamon[, , ]. As a spice it is extremely variable in quality[].
The aromatic bark and leaves are sometimes used as a seasoning, especially in curries[].

The leaves are used for preparing sweet drinking water in rural areas[].

Medicinal

The leaves (especially their essential oil) are carminative, deobstruent, diaphoretic, diuretic, lactagogue and stimulant[]. The oil distilled from the leaves is a powerful stimulant[].
The juice of the leaves, squeezed into the wound, is a Sakai rememdy for Antiaris poisoning[]. A poultice of leaves is used in the treatment of rheumatism[].

The roots (especially their essential oil) are carminative, deobstruent, diaphoretic, diuretic, lactagogue and stimulant[]. A root decoction is used after childbirth; and also in the treatment of fevers[].

The bark is sometimes traded and called 'mesni' in Sarawak; it is used as a medicine[].

The wood is used as a medicine against fever[].

Agroforestry Uses:

The tree is planted as a pioneer species in northern Thailand in reforestation projects to restore native woodland - it is planted in degraded woodland and open areas in a mix with various other species that all have the ability to grow fast; produce dense, weed-suppressing crowns; and attract seed-dispersing wildlife, particularly birds and bats[].

Other Uses

The mucilage (from the bark?[]) has found technical applications, e.g. In the manufacture of mosquito coils, fragrant joss-sticks, plastic products, formica, glue, inner layering of tyres, coating of high-quality paper products, paints and fibre glass[].

An essential oil is distilled from the aromatic bark and the leaves. It is used as a flavouring and to produce incense[].
The essential oil from the roots yields eugenol, saffrol, benzaldehyde, and terpene[].

The yellowish-brown wood is moderately hard, smooth, scented and insect resistant[, ]. It is used as a medang timber for purposes such as house building, furniture making and cabinet making[, , ]. The wood is used to make joss sticks[].
There are a number of tree species (including this one) from Peninsular 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 a specific description of 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. The number of dry seed per kg is about 6,400[].
Cuttings of semi-ripe side shoots, 7cm with a heel, in a frame with bottom heat[].
Stumping of C. iners has been found to be rather successful: 85% of the stumps of 20 cm long and 0.5 cm in diameter developed into healthy plants.

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