Cinnamomum camphora (L.) J.Presl

Evergreen large trees, up to 30 m tall, to 3 m d.b.h.; corona broadly ovate; whole plant strongly camphor-scented. Bark yellow-brown, irregularly and longitudinally fissured. Branchlets brownish, terete, glabrous. Terminal buds broadly ovoid; bud scales broadly ovate or suborbicular, sparsely sericeous outside. Leaves alternate; petiole slender, 2-3 cm, concave-convex, glabrous; leaf blade yellow-green or gray-green and glaucous abaxially, green or yellow-green and shiny adaxially, ovate-elliptic, 6-12 × 2.5-5.5 cm, subleathery, glabrous on both surfaces or sparsely puberulent abaxially only when young, triplinerved or sometimes inconspicuously 5-nerved, midrib conspicuous on both surfaces, lateral veins 1-5(-7) pairs, basal veins with a few additional veins outside, axils of lateral veins and veins conspicuously dome-shaped and always villous abaxially, conspicuously bullate adaxially, base broadly cuneate or subrounded, margin cartilaginous, entire or sometimes undulate, apex acute. Panicle axillary, 3.5-7 cm; peduncle 2.5-4.5 cm, peduncle and rachis glabrous or gray-to yellow-brown puberulent especially on node. Pedicels 1-2 mm, glabrous. Flowers green-white or yellowish, ca. 3 mm. Perianth glabrous or puberulent outside, densely pubescent inside; perianth tube obconical, ca. 1 mm; perianth lobes elliptic, ca. 2 mm. Fertile stamens 9, ca. 2 mm; filaments pubescent. Ovary ovoid, ca. 1 mm, glabrous; style ca. 1 mm. Fruit purple-black, ovoid or subglobose, 6-8 mm in diam.; perianth cup in fruit cupuliform, ca. 5 mm, longitudinally sulcate, base ca. 1 mm wide, apex truncate and up to 4 mm wide. Fl. Apr-May, fr. Aug-Nov.

It grows in tropical and subtropical locations. It needs a well drained, fertile, sandy loam. It does best in coller locations but needs a temperature above 9°C. In tropical Queensland it grows from 650-1000 m altitude. It is grown in China in areas without a severe winter. In Melbourne Botanical Gardens. It suits hardiness zones 9-11. In Yunnan.

Young shoots and leaves are boiled and eaten. Edible crystalline camphor is used in small quantities as flavouring in milk. It yields an essential oil used to flavour baked goods and drinks. The bark, root and leaves are used for tea. Caution: It is poisonous in excess.

It can be grown from seed. The plant spreads by suckers. It can be grown by softwood cuttings.