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Cinnamomum burmannii
Lauraceae FAMILY

Cinnamomum burmannii

Cinnamomum burmannii

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
3/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
Growth—

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[1]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 2,000 - 2,500mm, but tolerates 1,800 - 3,500mm[1]. It grows best at an elevation between 500 - 1,500 metres, with an evenly distributed annual rainfall of 2,000 - 2,500mm[2]. Prefers a fertile, sandy, moisture-retentive but freely draining soil in full sun or partial shade[3]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6, tolerating 5 - 7[1]. The inner bark is fragrant[4]. Trees are ready for their first harvest when about 5 years old and can then yield economic harvests for about 20 years[1]. Average-sized trees yield about 3 kg of stem bark and 1.5 kg of branch bark[2]. In a crop cycle of 10 years, the total yield is about 2 t/ha of bark[2].

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[3]. Remove the fruit pulp since this can inhibit germination[3]. Soaking the seeds for 24 hours in lukewarm water hastens germination[2], which can take 1 - 6 months at 20°c[5]. The germination rate of fresh seed is about 50%, falling to 25% for seed 6 months old, and zero for those 1 year old[2]. Stored seed should be sown as soon as possible in containers[6]. 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[6]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Cinnamomum+burmannii>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  2. [2]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
  3. [3]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  4. [4]Taxonomic revision of Cinnamomum (Lauraceae) in Borneo — Soh Wuu-Kuang · 2011 · http://dx.doi.org/10.3767/000651911X615168 ↩︎
  5. [5]Growing from Seed. Volume 4. — Bird. R. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1990 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Yuccas, one on Sagebrush (Artemesia spp) and another on Chaerophyllum bulbosum.
  6. [6]Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. — Sheat. W. G. · MacMillan and Co · 1948 · ISBN - ↩︎A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.
  7. [7]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
  8. [8]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
  9. [9]Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. — Bown. D. · Dorling Kindersley, London. · 1995 · ISBN 0-7513-020-31 ↩︎A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
  10. [10]Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. — Yeung. Him-Che. · Institute of Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles · 1985 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent Chinese herbal giving information on over 500 species. Rather technical and probably best suited to the more accomplished user of herbs.
  11. [11]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  12. [12]Timber Notes - Light Hardwoods II — Gan K.S.; Lim S.C.; Choo K.T. · Forest Research Institute; Malaysia · 1998 · ISBN 139-258 ↩︎Part of an excellent series of publications, this one giving a brief guide to five lesser known groups of light hardwoods from southeast Asia. It is available in PDF format on the Internet.