Cinnamomum bodinieri Seeds | Bodinier’s Cinnamon

Dark brown, oval Bodinier's Cinnamon seeds seated in a small cup, on a plain background — Bodinier’s Cinnamon (*Cinnamomum bodinieri*): Lauraceae, native to the evergreen woods and stream valleys of central and western China.

LATIN NAME: Cinnamomum bodinieri

COMMON NAME: Bodinier’s Cinnamon

Plant Profile

Bodinier’s Cinnamon is an evergreen tree of the laurel family, reaching twenty metres with an open, airy crown and oval, pointed, glossy leaves that smell of camphor when crushed. Its small, pale flowers are carried in loose panicles in spring, and its dark fruits ripen in autumn on red cups.

It grows in the evergreen woods and stream valleys of central and western China, where it is a familiar tree along roads and watercourses. In Chinese it is hou zhang, and it is one of the camphor-bearing cinnamons whose leaves are distilled for oil rather than bark for spice. The bark is smooth and grey when young, and crushed leaves leave a camphor smell on the fingers that lasts for some minutes.

Science & Biotechnology

The leaves are rich in camphor and in related monoterpenes, and the species is one of the sources of natural camphor in Chinese forestry, though it is less important than the true camphor tree, Cinnamomum camphora. Its wood is light, workable and aromatic, and is used for furniture and for packing cases where its scent is an advantage.

Within the genus, C. bodinieri belongs to the group of Chinese cinnamons that botanists have struggled to separate; leaf anatomy, the position of the stamens and the shape of the fruit cup are the characters used in keys, and misidentification in herbaria is common. Molecular work on the genus has helped, but the Chinese species are still being revised.

Uses & Benefits

Its timber and its leaf oil are the main products: the wood is used locally for furniture and construction, and the leaves are distilled for camphor-containing oil. The tree is also planted along roads and around villages for shade and for the scent of its foliage.

In a garden it is a tree for a mild, humid climate, grown for its glossy evergreen crown and its aromatic leaves. It needs space to show its open habit, and it is best used as a specimen or a shade tree rather than in a small border.

Growing from Seed

Sow fresh seed, cleaned of its flesh, in a loose, humus-rich mix at 20 to 25 °C. Germination is usually quick but uneven, and the seed should not be allowed to dry out; sowing within a few weeks of harvest gives the best results.

Raise them in a shaded frame and pot them on whenever the roots reach the sides of the pot. Plant out in deep, moist but well-drained soil in sun or light shade, and water through the first two summers. Protect young trees from frost, since the species is only hardy in mild gardens. Old trees coppice readily, and a cut stump will send up several vigorous shoots within a season.

Our Take

A Chinese camphor-cinnamon grown for timber and leaf oil, and a handsome evergreen where the climate suits it. Not a spice tree in the kitchen sense, despite the name.

Tree Seeds