Moolaga Shembaga Palai / Chinese Cinnamon
Neolitsea cassia
- Habit
- Tree
- Found in India
- Tamil Nadu, Arunachal Pradesh
- Flowering
- March-May
How to identify Moolaga Shembaga Palai
Identify Moolaga Shembaga Palai by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a tree habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Aromatic bark used as Chinese cinnamon substitute.
- Confirm leaf shape: Lanceolate.
- Confirm leaf surface: Glabrous.
- Confirm flower colour: Yellow.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: March-May.
- In India, compare location records such as Tamil Nadu, Arunachal Pradesh.
Plant Details
Leaf characters
- Leaf shape
- LanceolaterecordedLong and narrow, tapering to a point, like a lance head.“Leaves are lanceolate in shape with a slightly pointed base and a tapering pointed apex, about 6–18 cm long and 1.5–4 cm broad.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf surface
- GlabrousrecordedSmooth, hairless.“The leaf flush is smooth, silvery copper, drooping, crowded at the ends of branchlets, and turn bright green when mature.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Characters marked “recorded” are for Moolaga Shembaga Palai itself; the rest are typical of the Lauraceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Yellowrecorded“Pale yellow flowers are seen in small clusters borne on short branchlets on the internodes.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Panicle
- Fruit
- Drupe
Characters marked “recorded” are for Moolaga Shembaga Palai itself; the rest are typical of the Lauraceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Tamil
- மொலகா செம்பக பாளை Moolaga Shembaga Palai, படபடா Patapataa
- Telugu
- కుక్క కర్పూరమ
- Kannada
- ಬಿಳಿ ನಿಸಂಗಿ Bili Nisangi, ಮಸ್ಸಿಮರ Massimara
- Malayalam
- കീഴമ്പഴം Keezhambazham, പ്രാവരി Praavari, വെള്ളക്കൊടല Vellakkodala
- Marathi
- चिरचिरा Chirchira, कानवेल Kanvel
About Moolaga Shembaga Palai
Chinese Cinnamon (Neolitsea cassia) is a tree in the Lauraceae family. In India it has been recorded in Tamil Nadu and Arunachal Pradesh. It grows in evergreen and shola forests. Flowering and fruiting run from March to May.
Lauraceae
Laurel/Cinnamon family
Moolaga Shembaga Palai belongs to the Lauraceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
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Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
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