Cinnamomum puberulum (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Cinnamomum puberulum Ridley

Family: Lauraceae

Vernacular names

• Malaysia: teja, medang kemangi

Distribution

Peninsular Malaysia (Kedah, Pahang; a rare endemic).

Uses

The bark is used as a spice, e.g. to flavour curries.

Observations

• Tree, up to 15 m tall; bole 40 cm in diameter. Young twigs pale yellow hairy, older twigs glabrous, blackish.
• Leaves alternate, tri-veined; petiole up to 1.5 cm long; blade elliptical to oblong, 6.5-13 cm × 2.5-3.5 cm, leathery, lower surface adpressed hairy and slightly glaucous.
• Inflorescence an axillary or terminal racemose panicle, 6 cm long; flowers yellow haired.
• Fruit a cylindrical one-seeded berry, 1 cm × 0.6 cm.

C. puberulum occurs in lowland and mountain forest.

Selected sources

• Burkill, I.H., 1935. A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula. 2 volumes. Crown Agents for the Colonies, London, United Kingdom. 2402 pp. (slightly revised reprint, 1966. 2 volumes. Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 2444 pp.).

• Ridley, H.N., 1922-1925. The flora of the Malay Peninsula. 5 volumes. Government of the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States. L. Reeve & Co., London, United Kingdom.

• Whitmore, T.C. & Ng, F.S.P. (Editors), 1972-1989. Tree flora of Malaya. A manual for foresters. 2nd edition. 4 volumes. Malayan Forest Records No 26. Longman Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Authors

P.C.M. Jansen