''Cinnamomum malabatrum'', wild cinnamon, country cinnamon also known as ''malabathrum'', is a tree in the family

Lauraceae Lauraceae, or the laurels, is a plant family that includes the true laurel and its closest relatives. This family comprises about 2850 known species in about 45 genera worldwide (Christenhusz & Byng 2016 ). They are dicotyledons, and occur ma ...

that is endemic to Western Ghats of India. It can grow up to tall. It has aromatic leaves that are used for culinary and medicinal purposes. It is thought to have been one of the major sources of the medicinal plant leaves known in classic and medieval times as

malabathrum Malabathrum, malabathron, or malobathrum is the name used in classical and medieval texts for certain cinnamon-like aromatic plant leaves and an ointment prepared from those leaves. '' Cinnamomum tamala'' (sometimes given as ''Cinnamomum tejpa ...

(or malobathrum). It is locally known as ''Edana'', ''Therali'' or ''Vazhana in'' Kerala.

Uses

The bark is sometimes used for cooking, although it is regarded as inferior to true cinnamon or cassia. Thorough macroscopic and microscopic investigations revealed that ''Cinnamomum malabatrum'' is mixed with ''

Cinnamomum tamala ''Cinnamomum tamala'', Indian bay leaf'','' also known as tejpat'', ''tejapatta'','' Malabar leaf, Indian bark, Indian cassia, or malabathrum, is a tree in the family Lauraceae that is native to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and China. It c ...

'' as an adulterant in 'Tamalapatra', a highly reputed commodity in drug and spice trade. It is often used in kumbilappam or chakka-ada, an authentic sweet from Kerala, infusing its characteristic flavor to the dumplings.

Etymology

Malabar Malabar may refer to the following: People * Malabars, people originating from the Malabar region of India * Malbars or Malabars, people of Tamil origin in Réunion Places * Malabar Coast, or Malabar, a region of the southwestern shoreline o ...

had been traditionally used to denote the west coast of Southern India that forms the present-day state of Kerala and adjoining areas. The word ''mala'' or ''malaya'' means "mountain" in the

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

and Malayalam languages, as also in Sanskrit. The word "malabathrum" is thought to have been derived from the Sanskrit ''tamālapattram'' (तमालपत्त्रम्), literally meaning "dark-tree leaves".

Related species

* Cassia * Cinnamomum verum *

Cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakfa ...

* Saigon cinnamon

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15611800

Medicinal plants of Asia Leaves Flora of India (region) Indian spices Taxa named by Nicolaas Laurens Burman