''Cinnamomum tenuifolium'', commonly known as Japanese cinnamon, is an
evergreen tree in the genus ''
Cinnamomum''. It is a small- or medium-sized tree up to tall that occurs in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
,
Korea,
Taiwan, and eastern
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
(
Anhui,
Fujian, Sichuan,
Jiangsu,
Jiangxi, and
Zhejiang provinces). In China it is under second-class national protection.
Range and habitat
''Cinnamomum tenuifolium'' is known from 40 to 50 localities in southern Japan, southern Korea, Taiwan, and Anhui, Fujian, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang provinces of eastern China. The species has a large
extent of occurrence (EOO) of 1,235,974 km
2, and an
area of occupancy
Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an open s ...
(AOO) of 68 km
2.
[
Its typical habitat is lowland evergreen forest between 300 to 1,000 meters elevation.][
]
Conservation and threats
''Cinnamomum tenuifolium'' is affected by habitat loss from deforestation and conversion of forests to agriculture and plantations. The species' extent of occurrence and area of occupancy are declining. Despite declining habitat, the species' conservation status is assessed Least Concern in consideration of its wide extent of occurrence and large number of locations.[
]
Uses
The timber is hard and durable, and is used for furniture and house construction.[
Volatile oil from the bark and leafy branchlets is used as perfume. Oil and fat from fruit kernels is used to make soap.][
]
References
External links
Cinnamon species page
from multilingual multiscript plant name database
tenuifolium
Spices
Trees of China
Trees of Japan
Trees of Korea
Flora of Taiwan
Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN
{{Laurales-stub