Plant of the week - 5th Dec 07

kimmie · Plant of the week - 5th Dec 07

CINNAMON

This tropical evergreen tree has aromatic bark,wood and leaves, with a sweet, rich, mellow spicy aroma, silky panicles of tiny cream summer flowers and purple berries.

Pungent and warming, Cinnamon is good for all sorts of "cold" conditions, from the common cold and stomache chills to Arthritis and Rheumatism. In the west, we generally use the bark of C.Zeylanicum, which is sold rolled as the familiar cinnamon sticks. The chinese prefer the native variety, C.cassia, and make use of both the bark(rou gui) and the twigs(gui zhi).
Traditionally, the bark was believed best for the torso, the twigs for the fingers and the toes. Research has highlighted hypoglycaemic properties, useful in diabetes.

Cinnamon is added to potpourri, incense and pomanders, and is also known as a popular male aphrodisiac

Bark

In the west, the inner bark is used mainly for digestive upsets: Indigestion, general sluggishness, colic and diarrhoea.
In china, rou gui is considered very warming and tonifying for the kidneys, a good energizing herb for conditions that can be linked to weak kidney qi (energy): asthma and menopausal syndrome, for example. The inner bark promotes sweating and can be used for "cold" conditions.

Twigs

Gui zhi can be used as a circulatory stimulant to warm cold hands and feet. It also promotes sweating and is also ideal for "cold" conditions.

"...there is a tale of cinnamon growing around marshes under the protection of a terrible kind of bats... invented by the natives to raise the price." Pliny, AD 77

wildgarlic

I love cinnamon - it's one of my favourite spices in both sweet and savoury food.

Any idea how long you can store it for before it loses it's properties?

niki

oh yes.

.......................... lovely in food or mulled wine or perfume or baths , and so festive smelling too

i like this thread ill be here alot!

kimmie

it will start to loose its scent the moment its taken from the tree...but its gradual...not like alot of other plants...i have had some thats 2 or 3 years old...and when you put it to your nose you can hardly smell anything...untill you break it a little and the scent is stronger...but still not as strong as when you first get it...i wouldnt use it at that age....but would use it up to a year...anything after that use it for potpourri.

glad you like it niki

Ina

The ground stuff doesn't keep as long as the whole - but that's only natural. Just had some Spekulatius, which is mainly cinnamon with a bit of flour to hold it together - what they sell here as spiced biscuits at Lidl's - essential Christmas taste!