PlantPeers
Back to Catalog
Cinnamomum iners
Lauraceae FAMILY

Cinnamomum iners

Cinnamomum iners

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthFast

A plant of the moist tropics, found at low to moderate elevations with occasional specimens found as high as 2,400 metres[1]. Plants are very tolerant of poor soils in the wild, where they still grow fairly rapidly[1]. A fast-growing tree[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[1], which can take 1 - 6 months at 20°c[4]. The germination rate of fresh seed is about 50%, falling to 25% for seed 6 months old, and zero for those 1 year old[1]. Stored seed should be sown as soon as possible in containers[5]. 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[1]. Cuttings of semi-ripe side shoots, 7cm with a heel, in a frame with bottom heat[5]. 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. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Cinnamomum+iners>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]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.
  2. [2]Forest Restoration Planting in Northern Thailand — Pakkad G.; Elliott S.; Anusarnsunthorn V. Et al · Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; Bangkok · 2002 · http://www.fao.org/ ↩︎A report on reforestation in northern Thailand by using specific pioneer species. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  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]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.
  5. [5]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.
  6. [6]Taxonomic revision of Cinnamomum (Lauraceae) in Borneo — Soh Wuu-Kuang · 2011 · http://dx.doi.org/10.3767/000651911X615168 ↩︎
  7. [7]Trees of Laos and Vietnam - A Field Guide to 100 species. — Hoang Van Sam; Khamseng Nanthavong; Kessler P.J.A. · Blumea · 2004 ↩︎A detailed guide, with excellent line-drawings, to 100 of the more important trees of Laos and Vietnam. A very good work, giving lots of information about each plant. Originally published in the journal Blumea, it is available as a PDF on the Interne
  8. [8]Trees of Sungai Wain — http://www.nationaalherbarium.nl/Sungaiwain/ ↩︎An excellent site with factsheets on almost 1,000 species of forest trees growing at Sungai Wain in Indonesia. Each factsheet has good quality pictures plus basic information on the ecology and uses of the plants.
  9. [9]Biotik, Laos — http://biotik.org/species_list_laos.html ↩︎Information on more than 100 species of Laotian trees.
  10. [10]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.
  11. [11]Philippine Medicinal Plants — http://www.stuartxchange.org/CompleteList.html ↩︎A lovely site, giving brief details on the medicinal uses of several hundred (over 400 at the last count) plants in the Philippines, plus a picture of each plant.
  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.
  13. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎