|
Botanical Name: Cinnamomum camphora
|
|
Common Name: Camphor tree, Camphor laurel, Gum Camphor, Shiu leaf, Laurel
Camphor, Kapoor Tree
|
Family: Lauraceae
|
Cultivars: Barus, Chinese, Indian
|
Origin: Taiwan, southern Japan, southeast China and Indo-china
|
Distribution: China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, India, Australia, Caribbean Islands,
USA
|
Habitat: Mesic hard wood forests, upland pine woods, scrub jungles, along stream banks
|
Habit: Evergreen tree 15-45 m tall with 4 m trunk girth, tree canopy is twice as wide as
its height, rough and fissured bark cladding trunk all over, roots with characteristic odour
|
Duration: Perennial
|
Leaf: Shiny, broad, oval leaves with acute tip, waxy leaf surfce with three distinct
yellow veins, upcurled wavy margins, rusty burgundy young leaves, scented when
crushed by hand
|
Flower: Inconspicuously tiny white or creamy white flowers
|
Flowering Season: Spring
|
Fruit: Clusters of round pea sized berries attached to the branchlets by funnel like little
green cones. The berries turn red to black on ripening
|
Sunlight: Full sun, semi-shade (tolerant)
|
Water Requirement: Moderate, tolerates drought conditions, sensitive to water logging
|
Soil Texture: Clayey, loamy or sandy, prefers deep well-drained soils
|
Soil pH: Acidic, neutral or slightly alkaline
|
Salinity Tolerance: High
|
Propagation: Seed immediately after it ripens (germination period: 1-6 months), seeds
are easily spread by birds, soft wood or semi-hard wood cuttings
|
Cultural Practices: Roots are very sensitive to disturbance. Tree should not be planted
along other species as it exhibits allelopathy
|
Economic Part: Leaves, twigs, roots, wood
|
Crop Yield: Approximately 1000kg of chipped leaves and trunk yields about 6 kg of
camphor oil (0.63 per cent) and a small quantity of crystalline camphor.
|
Chemistry:Tree bark contains cinnamaldehyde (imparting characteristic odour), oil
extracted from leaves contains eugenol and iso-eugenol imparting very harsh odour,
crystalline camphor is a terpenoid with the chemical formula C10H16O
|
Caution: Camphor tree is recorded as an invasive exotic species disrupting native plant
communities in Australia and USA. Its massively ramifying root systems may disrupt
urban drainage and sewerage systems and may degrade tank bunds and river banks.
Camphor tree fruits stain cars and other vehicles if parked under this tree. Camphor oil
(safrole) shows toxic qualities, threatening native flora, fauna and even human health.
Leaf litter may spoil water quality, freshwater fish habitats, prevents other plant seeds
from germinating successfully. Plants may cause skin irritation or allergic reaction on
careless handling. Seeds are poisonous on ingestion. Camphor in large doses is toxic to
humans as it stimulates central nervous system, affect respiratory system and cause
convulsions, head ache, nausea, vision impairment, vomiting, paralysis and even coma.
Camphor is strictly prohibited for pregnant women.
|
