Cinnamomum verum J.Presl

Evergreen small trees, up to 10 m tall. Bark black-brown, inner bark with cinnamic aldehyde flavor. Young branchlets gray, somewhat tetragonous, white-maculate. Buds sericeous-puberulent. Leaves usually opposite; petiole ca. 2 cm, glabrous; leaf blade greenish white abaxially, green and shiny adaxially, ovate or ovate-lanceolate, 11-16 × 4.5-5.5 cm, leathery or subleathery, glabrous on both surfaces, triplinerved, midrib and lateral veins elevated on both surfaces, transverse veins and veinlets reticulate, conspicuously foveolate abaxially, base acute, margin entire, apex acuminate. Panicle axillary or terminal, 10-12 cm; peduncle and rachis sericeous-puberulent. Flowers yellow, ca. 6 mm. Perianth tube obconical; perianth lobes 6, oblong, subequal, gray puberulent outside. Fertile stamens 9; filaments hairy near base, those of 3rd whorl each with 2 glands, others glandless; anthers 4-celled; cells of 1st and 2nd whorls introrse but those of 3rd whorl extrorse. Ovary ovoid, 10-15 mm, glabrous; style short; stigma discoid. Fruit ovoid, 10-15 mm, black when mature; perianth cup in fruit cupuliform, dilated, dentate, teeth truncate or acute at apex.

A tropical plant. It grows in wet tropical forests. It grows up to 2000 m altitude in India. It needs adequate rainfall.

The bark is used raw and cooked as a spice. It is used with puddings and desserts as well as with stews, poultry, pickles and soups. The leaves are used for food flavouring. The bark and leaves yield as essential oil also used similarly for flavouring.

Plants are usually grown from seed.