Camphor laurel
Cinnamomum camphora

Family: Lauraceae

What it is like

A tree. It grows to 36 m high. It keeps its leaves throughout the year. It has a rounded crown 15 m wide. The trunk is short with scaly, grey bark. The trunk can be 3 m across. The whole plant has a strong camphor smell. The bark is yellow brown with cracks along it. The leaves are alternate. The leaves are pink when young. They turn green with age. The leaf stalk is slender. The leaf blade is 6-12 cm long by 2.5-5.5 cm wide. The flower cluster is in the axils of leaves. Flowers are green-white or yellow. The fruit are round. They are greyish-black.

The bark and wood is used to make camphor crystals. There are about 250 Cinnamomum species. The leaves are used in medicine. It has anticancer properties. It can become invasive.

Where it is found

It grows in tropical and subtropical locations. It needs a well drained, fertile, sandy loam. It does best in coller locations but needs a temperature above 9°C. In tropical Queensland it grows from 650-1000 m altitude. It is grown in China in areas without a severe winter. In Melbourne Botanical Gardens. It suits hardiness zones 9-11. In Yunnan.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Asia, Australia, Central America, China (country/location of origin), Cuba, Dominican Republic, East Africa, East Timor, Europe, Fiji, Haiti, Hawaii, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Italy, Japan (country/location of origin), Korea, Laos, Madagascar, Malaysia, Marquesas, Mediterranean, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, North America, Pacific, Pakistan, Sao Tome and Principe, SE Asia, South Africa, Southern Africa, Suriname, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkey, Türkiye, USA, Vietnam, West Indies, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

Young shoots and leaves are boiled and eaten. Edible crystalline camphor is used in small quantities as flavouring in milk. It yields an essential oil used to flavour baked goods and drinks. The bark, root and leaves are used for tea. Caution: It is poisonous in excess.

It is cultivated.

Edible parts

Leaves, bark, root

How it is grown

It can be grown from seed. The plant spreads by suckers. It can be grown by softwood cuttings.

Trees can live for several hundred years.

Its other names

Local names

Ai-kanfor, Camphor, Chuang, Ho wood, Kamfer, Kamifaoro, Kapoor, Kapur, Karppuram, Karpur, Karpurammu, Kuqmiqsail, Long nao, Mushkapur, Noknamu, Payok, Payuk, Pohon kapur barus, Ravinsara, Re, Zhang, Zhangshu

Synonyms

Camphora camphora (L.) H. Karst.; Camphora officinarum Nees; Cinnamomum simondii Lec.; Cinnamomum camphora (L.) Sieb. var. nominale Hayata ex Matsum; Cinnamomum camphora (L.) Nees & Eberm. var. glaucescens (Braun.) Meissn.; Laurus camphora L.; Persea camphora Spreng.; and others