Malabathrum, malabathron, or malobathrum is the name used in classical and medieval texts for certain

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits, b ...

-like aromatic plant leaves and an ointment prepared from those leaves. '' Cinnamomum tamala'' (sometimes given as ''Cinnamomum tejpata''), grown most commonly in the eastern Himalayas, but also in the Western Ghats, is thought to be a notable source of these leaves,Casson, Lionel. ''The Periplus Maris Erythraei: Text With Introduction, Translation, and Commentary'' 1989. Princeton University Press p. 241 although other species of ''

Cinnamomum ''Cinnamomum'' is a genus of evergreen aromatic trees and shrubs belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The species of ''Cinnamomum'' have aromatic oils in their leaves and bark. The genus contains approximately 234 species, distributed in ...

'' and even plants in other genera may have been used. In ancient

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, the leaves were used to prepare a fragrant oil, called ''oleum malabathri'', and were therefore valuable.

History

Malabathrum is mentioned in the first century

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

text '' Periplus Maris Erythraei'' and sourced to a people called 'Sêsatai', identified with Kirradai ( Kirata) of Ptolemy. Though malabathrum was a product of

Northeast India Northeast India, officially the North Eastern Region (NER), is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political Administrative divisions of India, administrative division of the country. It comprises eight States and ...

, it was rarely traded by the western traders at the mouth of the Ganges (which is much closer to the source) but at southwestern Indian ports of

Muziris ''Muciṟi'' (, ), commonly anglicized as Muziris (, Malayalam, Old Malayalam: ''Muciṟi'' or ''Muciṟipaṭṭaṇam'', possibly identical with the medieval ''Muyiṟikkōṭŭ'') was an ancient harbour and urban centre on India's Malabar C ...

/ Nelcynda. It is mentioned in the ''Periplus'' that some people collected the green leaves after the Sêsatai in the northeast prepared them and carried them to the ports of trade. In the language of Kerala, Malayalam, the plant is called ''vazhana''. It is also known as ''edana'' in Malayalam. The name malabathrum is used in mediaeval texts to describe the dried leaves of a number of trees of the genus ''

'', which were thought to have

medicinal Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

properties. The Greeks used ''kásia'' ( cassia) or ''malabathron'' to flavour wine, with absinth wormwood (''

Artemisia absinthium ''Artemisia absinthium'', otherwise known as common wormwood, is a species of '' Artemisia'' native to North Africa and temperate regions of Eurasia, and widely naturalized in Canada and the northern United States. It is grown as an ornamental ...

''). Malabathrum leaves (''folia'') were used in cooking and for distilling an oil used in a caraway-sauce for oysters by the Roman gourmet Gaius Gavius

Apicius ''Apicius'', also known as ''De re culinaria'' or ''De re coquinaria'' (''On the Subject of Cooking''), is a collection of Food and dining in the Roman Empire, Roman cookery recipes, which may have been compiled in the fifth century CE, or ea ...

.''De re coquinaria'', I, 29, 30; IX, 7 Malabathrum is among the spices that, according to Apicius, any good kitchen should contain. Malabathrum from Egypt (Dioscorides I, 63) was based on beef fat and contained cinnamon, as well; one pound cost 300 ''denarii''.

Etymology

The word "malabathrum" is the Hellenization of the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

word ''tamālapattram'' (तमालपत्त्रम्), literally meaning "dark-tree leaves", with the ''ta'' being mistaken for the Greek definite article.

References

{{Reflist Pharmacognosy Periplus of the Erythraean Sea