Interesting Facts
Description
Family Lauraceae
Shrubs
to tall trees
, evergreen
or rarely deciduous ( Cassytha a parasitic vine
with leaves reduced to scales
), usually aromatic
. Leaves alternate, rarely whorled
or opposite, simple
, without stipules, petiolate
. Leaf blade
: unlobed (unlobed or lobed
in Sassafras ), margins
entire, occasionally with domatia (crevices or hollows serving as lodging for mites
) in axils of main lateral
veins (in Cinnamomum ) . Inflorescences in axils of leaves or deciduous bracts, panicles (rarely heads
), racemes
, compound
cymes, or pseudoumbels (spikes in Cassytha ), sometimes enclosed by decussate bracts. Flowers bisexual
or unisexual
, bisexual only, or staminate
and pistillate
on different plants
, or staminate and bisexual on some plants, pistillate and bisexual on others; flowers usually yellow to greenish or white, rarely reddish; hypanthium well developed, resembling calyx tube
, tepals and stamens perigynous; tepals 6(-9), in 2(-3) whorls of 3, sepaloid
, equal or rarely unequal, if unequal then usually outer 3 smaller than inner 3 (occasionally absent in Litsea ) ; stamens (3-) 9(-12), in whorls of 3, but 1 or more whorls frequently staminodial or absent; stamens of 3d whorl with 2 glands
near base
; anthers
2- or 4-locular, locules opening by valves
; pistil 1, 1-carpellate; ovary 1-locular; placentation basal; ovule 1; stigma subsessile
, discoid
or capitate. Fruits drupes, drupe borne on pedicel with or without persistent
tepals at base, or seated in ± deeply cup-shaped receptacle (cupule), or enclosed in accrescent
floral tube
. Seed 1; endosperm absent.
Genera ca.
50, species 2000-3000 (9 genera, 13 species in the flora
) : pantropical
, a few species also in subtropical
and temperate
regions
Cassytha is sometimes placed in its own family
, Cassythaceae; it is here retained in Lauraceae.[1]
Genus Cinnamomum
Trees
or shrubs
, evergreen
. Bark
gray [or brown], furrowed
[or smooth
]; bark and leaves often aromatic
. Leaves alternate, infrequently opposite. Leaf blade
with (1-) 3 primary
veins [or infrequently pinnately veined], papery
to leathery; surfaces glabrous
or variously pubescent
; domatia frequently present. Inflorescences appearing when mature
leaves are present, axillary
, panicles. Flowers bisexual
; tepals deciduous or persistent
, white, green, or yellow, equal; stamens 9, anthers
4-locular, 4-valved (rarely with anthers of inner 3 stamens 2-locular), extrorse
; staminodes 3, apex sagittate
or cordate; ovary ovoid-ellipsoid. Drupe bluish black, nearly globose
, seated in small cupule with entire single rim
or tepals persistent.
Species 300 or more: tropical
and subtropical
regions, North America, Central America, South America, Asia, Pacific Islands, Australia.
The neotropical
species were formerly included
in Phoebe, but they are better placed in Cinnamomum.[2]
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Plantae
(
)
- Haeckel, 1866
- Plants
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
(
)
- Cavalier-Smith, 1981
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
(
)
- Sinnott, 1935 ex Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Vascular Plants
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
(
)
- Infraphylum:
Radiatopses
(
)
- Kenrick & Crane, 1997
- Class:
Spermatopsida
(
)
- Brongniart, 1843
- Subclass:
Magnoliidae
(
)
- Novák ex Takhtajan, 1967
- Superorder:
Lauranae
(
)
- (Perleb, 1826) Takhtajan, 1997
- Order:
Laurales
(
)
- Perleb, 1826
- Suborder:
Laurineae
(
)
-
- Family:
Lauraceae
(
)
- Durande, 1782, nom. cons.
- laurels
- Tribe:
Perseeae
(
)
- Genus:
Cinnamomum
(
)
- Schaeffer, 1760, nom. cons.
- [Greek kinnamomon, cinnamon]
- Specific epithet:
sellovianum
- (Nees & Mart.) Kosterm.
- Botanical name: - Cinnamomum sellovianum (Nees & Mart.) Kosterm.
- Specific epithet:
sellovianum
- (Nees & Mart.) Kosterm.
- Genus:
Cinnamomum
(
- Tribe:
Perseeae
(
- Family:
Lauraceae
(
- Suborder:
Laurineae
(
- Order:
Laurales
(
- Superorder:
Lauranae
(
- Subclass:
Magnoliidae
(
- Class:
Spermatopsida
(
- Infraphylum:
Radiatopses
(
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
(
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
(
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
(
- Kingdom:
Plantae
(
Synonyms
Persea selloviana Nees & Mart.
Notes
Publishing author
: Kosterm. Publication
: Reinwardtia 6: 23 1961
Basionym
author: (Nees & Mart.)
Similar Species
Members of the genus Cinnamomum
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 27 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:
C. aromaticum (Cassia Cinnamon) · C. bejolghota (and God´s Cinnamon) · C. burmanni (Padang Cassia) · C. burmannii (Malaysian Cinnamon) · C. burmannii f. heyneanum (Narrow-Leaved Batavia Cinnamon) · C. camphora (Camphor Laurel) · C. camphora var. procera (Japanese Camphor) · C. chekiangensis (Camphor Tree) · C. citriodorum (Malabar Cinnamon) · C. elongatum (Laurel Avispillo) · C. glanduliferum (False Camphor Tree) · C. iners (Wild Cinnamon) · C. japonicum (Japanese Cinnamon) · C. loureirii (Saigon Cassia) · C. loureiroi (Vietnamese Cinnamon) · C. macrocarpum (Medicinal Cinnamon) · C. malabathrum (Cinnamon (Western Ghats - India)) · C. mercadoi (Cinamomon) · C. mexicanum (Mexican Cinnamon) · C. montanum (Avispillo) · C. sessilifolium (Cinnamon) · C. sulphuratum (North-India Wild Cinnamon) · C. tamala (Indian Bark) · C. tamala var. albiflorum (Indian-Cassia) · C. tamala var. intermedium (Indian-Cassia) · C. verum (Ceylon Cinnamon Tree) · C. zeilanicum (Sri Lanka Cinnamon)
More Info
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- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Further Reading
- Wood, C. E. Jr. 1958. The genera of the woody Ranales in the southeastern United States. J. Arnold Arbor. 39: 296-346.
- Rohwer, J. G. 1993. Lauraceae: Nectandra. In: Organization for Flora Neotropica. 1968+. Flora Neotropica. 65+ vols. New York. Monogr. 60.
Notes
Contributors
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 10, 2012.
Identifiers
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 4555734
Footnotes
- Henk van der Werff "Lauraceae". in Flora of North America Vol. 3. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
- Henk var der Werff "Cinnamomum". in Flora of North America Vol. 3. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
