Cinnamomum iners Reinw. ex Blume
Family
Lauraceae
Synonyms
Cinnamomum eucalyptoides T. Nees, Cinnamomum nitidum Blume, Cinnamomum paraneuron Miq.
Vernacular Names
Malaysia |
Medang teja (Peninsular, Sarawak), kayu manis hutan, teja lawang (Peninsular). |
English |
Clove cinnamon, wild cinnamon. |
Indonesia |
Ki teja (Sundanese, Javanese, Java), medang kalong (Belitung), kacengal (Madurese). |
Philippines |
Namog (Filipino). |
Myanmar |
Nmanthin. |
Laos |
Chouang, ‘si khai t[oox]n2. |
Thailand |
Chiat (Peninsular), kradangnga (Kanchanaburi), phayaprap (Nakhon Ratchasima). |
Vietnam |
Qu[ees] l[owj]n. |
Geographical Distributions
Cinnamomum iners is found in India, Burma (Myanmar), Indo-China, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Sulawesi and the southern Philippines.
Description
Cinnamomum iners is a medium-sized tree that can grow up to 24 m tall. The bole measures up to 60 cm in diametre. Its bark surface is smooth, with lenticels and greyish-brown while the inner bark is pinkish.
The leaves are arranged opposite or subopposite, and measuring (5-)7.5-30 cm x 2-13 cm. The leaf base is wedge-shaped, rarely rounded while the apex is blunt to acute, often pale bluish-green below and 3-veined. The main veins are prominent. The tertiary venation is ladder-like to ladder-like-netted and faint to distinct below. The petiole is 1-2 cm long.
The inflorescence is an axillary or terminal panicle, which is up to 18 cm long. The flowers are sometimes partly unisexual and with dense silky hairs.
The fruit is oblong to narrowly ovoid, measuring about 1.5 cm x 1 cm and seated on a perianth cup with persistent perianth lobes.
Ecology / Cultivation
Cinnamomum iners is common, occurring in primary and secondary lowlands and hill forests, often in moist, rather open locations, up to 1200(-2400) m altitude.
Line Drawing / Photograph
References
- Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 5(2): Timber trees: Minor commercial timbers.