Web of Life

Cinnamomum verum or C. zeylanicum is one of the earliest known spices. It was associated with both culinary and ritual use in the courts of ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome. Native to Sri Lanka and South India, It has attracted traders to these shores for over 4000 years. One principal trading port for cinnamon, elephants and peacocks for over 1000 years was Mannar, where coins and shards of all manner are still found in the dunes. Finding cinnamon was a goal of traders and explorers throughout history.

The peaceful trade in cinnamon changed with the advent of the militant, colonial European expansion that began around the 1400s. It was the Portuguese who found cinnamon being traded with the Arabs in Sri Lanka in 1505 and it was mainly for the spice they proceeded to invade the island. As the trade wars for spices and other valuable commodities expanded, the Dutch conquered the Portuguese in 1636 and took over their possessions on the island inheriting the monopoly of the wild cinnamon. Cinnamon wasn't cultivated until 1776, due to Dutch opposition to expanding the production of this valuable spice and affecting prices. This coupled with a belief that cultivation would destroy its properties, slowed the destruction of the lowland rainforests of Sri Lanka.

Cinnamon, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, belongs to the family Lauraceae - along with plants such as the bay tree and avocado. The genus is represented by over 250 species of Cinnamomum, which are all evergreen shrubs or trees. Another well-known member of Cinnamomum is camphor, which is used for its medicinal properties.

In its wild state, the cinnamon tree grows to around 10 - 20 meters (30-60ft) in height. The bark is light brown and papery, often peeling, giving it a patchy appearance. The leaves, which range in length from 7-18cm, are green and leathery and the young leaves of cinnamon are red or orange. A cinnamon tree in full flush within the dark green of the lowland rainforest is indeed a spectacular sight. The minute flowers are borne on inflorescences and white and yellow in colour. The fruits are an oval berry, bluish in colour when ripe and have white spots on them. The fruit is very attractive to birds, especially fruit eating pigeons such as the Green Imperial, Pompadour Green, Bronze Wing etc.

Cinnamon is native to South India and Sri Lanka where it can be found growing in the coastal zone of the lowland rainforests. Individual trees of natural stands show variation with regard to quality. This has been taken advantage of in Sri Lanka, where production has been in place for over 4000 to identify distinct varieties. Some traditional varieties are: Peni-, Rasa-, Pengeri-, Thittha-, and Kahata-Kurundu. It is cultivated as a low shrub, and grows best in almost pure sand, requiring only 1% organic matter. It requires a sheltered place, constant rain, heat and a stable temperature. It has become widely naturalized in areas such as the Seychelles.

Growers of cinnamon do not allow the plant to become a tree, keeping it lopped to form many straight shoots from a rootstock. When the stems are around 1.5 meters in length i.e. after about two years of growth, they are cut close to the ground and removed in bundles for peeling and processing. The peeling produces the spice. A longitudinal slit is made on one side of the stem. A parallel slit is made on the other and the bark is lifted with a knife. The curled strips peeled from the stems are scraped clean and formed into compound quills, about 1 meter long; each quill consists of many strips rolled together into a cylindrical shape. They are cut into shorter lengths for sale, and sold as cinnamon sticks, or are ground into powder.

Cinnamon has been known to help stop vomiting, relieves flatulence and also is used for treating diarrhoea and haemorrhage of the womb. It is used in topical balms very popular in Asia. It is also used in food, soft drinks, chewing gum and toothpaste flavouring. For all the effort that has gone into turning cinnamon into a broadacre monoculture plantation crop, it still remains a spice that is predominantly produced by small holders. This type of patchy land use with cinnamon acreage set between other crops or bits of native vegetation, make the cultivation of cinnamon in Sri Lanka an endeavor that leads to the creation of forest gardens harbouring a large native biodiversity.

(Part of the plant series by Rainforest Rescue International facilitated by Lake House Investments Ltd. www.rain4est.org)