Cinnamomum camphora

Camphor tree ( Cinnamomum camphora )

The camphor tree ( Cinnamomum camphora ), also called camphor laurel is a plant belonging to the laurel family ( Lauraceae ).

Description

Appearance, bark and leaf

The camphor tree growing reached as evergreen tree, the growth heights up to 30 meters and diameter at breast height ( DBH ) of about 3 meters. All parts smell strongly of camphor and also contain more or less a lot of camphor. The yellowish- brown bark peels off in irregular and longitudinal pieces. The bark of the branches terete is bluish and bare. The broadly ovate terminal buds have broadly oval to almost circular scales.

The alternate arranged on the branches leaves are divided into petiole and leaf blade. The bald, slender petiole is 2-3 cm long. Those with a length of 6 to 12 cm and a width from 2.5 to 5.5 cm ovate - elliptic leaf blade is almost leathery. The upper leaf surface is green to yellow- green yellow - green and glossy, the lower leaf surface, or yellow-green and frosted. Both leaf surfaces are bare or sparsely pubescent underside is as long as she is young.

Inflorescence and flower

The flowering period extends from April to May Page Constantly on a 2.5 to 4.5 cm inflorescence stem is a 3.5 to 7 cm large Rispige inflorescence. Inflorescence stem and inflorescence axis are bald or gray to yellow- brown fluffy hairy, especially at the nodes. The leafless flower stalks are 1-2 mm long. The hermaphrodite flowers are about 3 mm in size. The green- white or yellowish bracts are glabrous or hairy outside and fluffy inside densely hairy fluffy. The bloom are about 1 mm long, inverted - conical fused tube. The free portions of the bloom are elliptical having a length of about 2 mm. There are nine fertile, 2 mm long stamens with hairy fluffy stamens present. The egg-shaped with 1 mm length ovary is bald. The stylus has a length of about 1 mm.

Fruit

The purple to almost black, fleshy fruit is egg-shaped with a diameter of 6 to 8 mm or almost spherical. The durable bracts envelop the fruit bowl-like; these longitudinally grooved cup has a length of about 5 mm, at the base a diameter of approximately 1 mm and the truncated upper part, a diameter of about 4 mm. The fruits ripen from August to November.

Dissemination and use

His home has the camphor tree in East Asia (Japan, Korea, Vietnam).

It is also grown in Sri Lanka and East Africa as well as in Brazil to a greater extent.

From plant parts of the camphor tree, the essential Ravintsaraöl is obtained. The content of camphor is the wood of the lower trunk sections greatest.

Swell

• Xi -wen Li, Jie Li & Henk van der Werff: Cinnamomum in the Flora of China, Volume 7, 2008, p 166: Cinnamomum camphora - Online. ( Description section )
• Henk van der Werff: Cinnamomum in the Flora of North America, Volume 3, 1997: Cinnamomum camphora - Online. ( Description section )