Species
+

Cinnamomum verum J.Presl

Canelier de Ceylan, Canella ceilánica, Ceylon Cinnamon, Ceylon cinnamon

Climate known 70 photographs
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Every figure on this page is derived from public data by a stated rule and says its source; nothing here is written by a person or a model, except the Wikipedia passage, which is quoted and marked as such. How it is made.

Summary

Cinnamomum verum, also known as true cinnamon or Ceylon cinnamon, is a small evergreen tree belonging to the family Lauraceae, native to Sri Lanka. The inner bark of the tree is historically regarded as the spice cinnamon, though this name has also been used for C. cassia (cassia) as well.

Text from Wikipedia, “Cinnamomum verum”, CC BY-SA 4.0, quoted as written. Kept separate from everything derived here.

About the genus · 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 and are best known as the source of the spice cinnamon. The genus contains about 227 species, distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia and Oceania/Australasia. More on Wikipedia ›

The opening of Wikipedia, “Cinnamomum”, CC BY-SA 4.0, quoted as written.

Family
Lauraceae
Described by
J.Presl
Native to
Sri Lanka
Wild records
8 in range· 5 open

At a glance

Warmest month
29°C
Mar, mean day; nights 24 °C (CHELSA)
Rain
2211mm/yr
12 wet months · peak Nov 313 mm (CHELSA)
Light
30–40DLI
mol/m²/day, winter to summer, open sky (CHELSA shortwave)
In short condensed by rule from the cultivation cards · not written by a person
Rain rule: a sharp rainy season, April to June and September to December at the habitat (not shifted); the temperature curve is flat (1.6 °C of range), so no growing season is inferred. Habitat rain 2211 mm a year, wettest November at 313 mm, driest February at 80 mm (habitat calendar, northern hemisphere). Open sky over the habitat: 30 to 40 mol/m²/day. Cold floor 22.5 °C (1st-percentile habitat night, NASA POWER).
Each sentence is one card's own one-line form, written by the same rule as the card (Its year, Rain, Light, Temperature); the note cannot say what a card does not. Months are given for the northern hemisphere (set your site in Settings to change this), and the habitat's own alongside. The cards · the figures.

Also known as Camphora mauritiana Lukman.; Camphora syringifolia Lukman.; Camphorina cinnamomum (L.) Farw.; Canella ceilanica Anonymus; Cinnamomum alexii Kosterm. and 45 more.

Cultivation

Its year Rain rule: a sharp rainy season, April to June and September to December at the habitat (not shifted); the temperature curve is flat (1.6 °C of range), so no growing season is inferred.

This species’ habitat figures, and what two fixed rules read from them.

The rain rule reads a sharp season: 70% of the year's rain (1663 mm of 2211 mm) falls in April to June and September to December. The temperature curve is flat, 1.6 °C between the warmest and coldest month, so the growing-season rule does not infer a growing season from it. Months are the habitat's, northern hemisphere, within 10° of the equator; with no thermal season there there is no season to reverse, so they are not shifted for a collection elsewhere.

Read from the median year of CHELSA monthly rainfall and mean temperature across the envelope cells: the rain rule takes the smallest set of months carrying 70% of the rain and calls it winter when its mean is more than half a degree below the year's, summer when more than that above, and neither in between; the temperature rule, used only under 120 mm, names the cooler six months when they are at least a degree cooler than the other six. Months are shifted for the other hemisphere only where the temperature curve gives a season to reverse. A reading of the curves, not an observation of the plant.

Rain Habitat rain 2211 mm a year, wettest November at 313 mm, driest February at 80 mm (habitat calendar, northern hemisphere).

This species’ habitat figures, with their source.

2211 mm a year at the habitat, 1663 mm of it April to June and September to December. Wettest month November at 313 mm, driest February at 80 mm. Across the envelope cells the year's total runs 1803 mm to 2487 mm (10th to 90th percentile of each cell's own year) (median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA; habitat calendar, northern hemisphere).

CHELSA monthly precipitation, median year across the envelope cells. The rain that falls where the species is recorded; nothing about how the plant takes water.

Light Open sky over the habitat: 30 to 40 mol/m²/day.

This species’ habitat figures, with their source.

Open sky over the habitat: 30 to 40 mol/m²/day across the year (daily light integral, median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA; the lowest 10th-percentile month across the cells is 25, the highest 90th-percentile month 41).

CHELSA shortwave radiation at each envelope cell, a daily-mean flux taken to a daily total and converted at 2.07 mol of PAR per MJ. The sky over the habitat, measured; what reaches a plant under a rock, a shrub or a shade cloth is not.

Warmth and air Cold floor 22.5 °C (1st-percentile habitat night, NASA POWER).

This species’ habitat figures, with their source.

Temperature

Coldest: the 1st-percentile night over 44 years at the typical cell is 22.5 °C, the absolute minimum 20.7 °C, no frost in 44 years (NASA POWER daily minima). Warmest: the 99th-percentile day is 32.2 °C. Monthly means: coldest night 22.9 °C in January (across the envelope cells 18.9 °C to 23.9 °C), warmest day 29.4 °C in March (median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA). Cold floor: 22.5 °C, which is the 1st-percentile night over 44 years at the typical cell (NASA POWER).

NASA POWER daily minima and maxima 1981–2024 at the typical cell, lapse-corrected to its elevation; CHELSA monthly means, median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA. The cold floor is the figure named in its sentence. Not a measured survival limit for any plant in a pot.

Humidity

Relative humidity at the habitat: 63 to 68% across the year (monthly means, median year across the envelope cells, CHELSA). A figure about the air, saying nothing about how the plant takes water.

CHELSA relative humidity, median year across the envelope cells.

The figures the cards read from are in Climate below, and where they came from in Natural habitat.

Climate across the habitat

Habitat climate through the yearMean day from 27 °C in Aug to 29 °C in Mar; mean night from 23 °C in Jan to 25 °C in May. The cold quarter, Dec to Feb, is the three months around the coldest night. 2211 mm of rain a year, most in Nov. The bands show the 10th to 90th percentile across 8 habitat cells. Over 44 years at the typical cell the absolute minimum was 20.7 °C and the 99th-percentile day 32.2 °C; neither is dated to a month. Beneath: daily light integral and relative humidity through the year, each on its own scale.15°20°25°30°35°32.2° 99th-percentile day (undated)20.7° lowest night in 44 yrs (undated)°C · day and nightcold quarter0100200300400mm rainDLI 30–40RH 63–68 %JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
day night rain 10th–90th percentile across 8 habitat cells cold quarter: the three months around the coldest night extremes over 44 years at the typical cell, marked at the edge: undated DLI, mol/m²/dayRH %each on its own scale
Figures by month
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Day °C28 / 26–2928 / 27–3029 / 29–3229 / 29–3129 / 28–3128 / 26–3028 / 26–2927 / 26–3028 / 27–3028 / 27–2928 / 26–2928 / 25–29
Night °C23 / 19–2423 / 19–2424 / 20–2525 / 21–2625 / 22–2625 / 21–2524 / 21–2524 / 21–2524 / 21–2524 / 20–2523 / 20–2423 / 19–24
Rain mm102 / 96–14480 / 76–105104 / 92–141229 / 174–253267 / 149–363188 / 116–257126 / 98–170136 / 87–169205 / 128–259310 / 228–326313 / 287–361151 / 141–212
DLI34 / 28–3439 / 36–3940 / 40–4137 / 36–3833 / 31–3531 / 30–3431 / 30–3533 / 32–3633 / 32–3632 / 31–3430 / 26–3131 / 25–32
RH %66 / 63–6764 / 61–6463 / 61–6566 / 64–6768 / 66–7068 / 66–7168 / 66–7068 / 65–7067 / 65–6967 / 65–7068 / 66–7067 / 65–69

Each figure is the median across the 8 grid cells holding the 8 in-range records, with the 10th–90th percentile span across those cells after the slash where it differs. Extremes and elevation were read at the typical cell 1679:5213 (6.025, 80.675). Over 44 years there: absolute minimum 20.7 °C, 1st-percentile night 22.5 °C, 99th-percentile day 32.2 °C. Normals: CHELSA V2.1 1981–2010 climatology, 0.05° cells (each the mean of ~36 1 km pixels). Envelope: median and 10th–90th percentile of each month across the 8 distinct grid cells holding the 8 in-range records; extremes and elevation at the typical cell 1679:5213 (its coldest month's mean night nearest the median across cells); its position is the cell centre. Extremes: NASA POWER (MERRA-2) daily 1981–2024, cell 6.00_80.625, lapse-corrected +36 m at 6.5 °C/km. Elevation: ETOPO 2022, 97 m (cell mean).

Natural habitat

Native range as published by WCVP; the marker is where the records are densest and decides nothing: the climate was read across every in-range record's cell, not at the marker.
Openly licensed records inside the range, framed on where they fall.
NativeSri Lanka· introduced: Gulf of Guinea Is., Tanzania, Angola, Comoros, Mauritius, Seychelles, China Southeast, Taiwan, Assam, Bangladesh, India, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Borneo, Jawa, Philippines, Fiji, Samoa, Cook Is., Society Is., Caroline Is., Hawaii, Leeward Is. AB Ant, Windward Is., Brazil Southeast, Argentina Northeast
Kew's description“tree” · “wet tropical”· quoted from WCVP, RBG Kew (CC BY 4.0); not derived here
Map marker6.388, 80.048 · in the densest population, 8 records (100% of those in range)
Evidence usedThe map marker and the climate envelope rest on all 8 georeferenced records inside the native range; the map shows only the 5 openly licensed ones, which alone would put the marker 73 km away. 470 records outside the range (gardens, roadsides, misidentifications) ignored. Under a dozen records: treat the map and the climate as indicative.
The map markerthe map marker: the openly licensed record nearest the middle of the densest 1° population of the 8 in-range records; it decides nothing.

Photographs

Cinnamomum verumCinnamomum verumCinnamomum verumCinnamomum verumCinnamomum verumCinnamomum verumCinnamomum verumCinnamomum verum

Photographs: (c) Sayee Girdhari, some rights reserved (CC BY) (5); (c) Kevin Faccenda, some rights reserved (CC BY); no rights reserved · CC0 (2).

Photographs: iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons did not answer when this page was built; what is shown came from the sources that did.

Papers naming this species

Works whose title or abstract names Cinnamomum verum, most cited first, from OpenAlex (CC0). A mention, not a cultivation source: nothing on this page is drawn from them.

Potent α-amylase inhibitory activity of Indian Ayurvedic medicinal plants
PV Sudha, Smita Zinjarde, Shobha Bhargava, Ameeta Ravi Kumar (2011) · BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Antimicrobial Activities of Cinnamon Oil and Cinnamaldehyde from the Chinese Medicinal Herb Cinnamomum cassia Blume
Linda S. M. Ooi, Yao-Lan Li, Sheung-Lau Kam, Hua Wang (2006) · The American Journal of Chinese Medicine
Comparison of bacteriostatic and bactericidal activity of 13 essential oils against strains with varying sensitivity to antibiotics
L. Mayaud, Anne Carricajo, Abdesselam Zhiri, G. Aubert (2008) · Letters in Applied Microbiology
Cassia Cinnamon as a Source of Coumarin in Cinnamon-Flavored Food and Food Supplements in the United States
Yan‐Hong Wang, Bharathi Avula, N. P. Dhammika Nanayakkara, Jianping Zhao (2013) · Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Phytochemical and pharmacological review of Cinnamomum verum J. Presl-a versatile spice used in food and nutrition
Neetu Singh, Amrender Singh Rao, Abhishek Nandal, Sanjiv Kumar (2020) · Food Chemistry
Cinnamomum verum Bark Extract Mediated Green Synthesis of ZnO Nanoparticles and Their Antibacterial Potentiality
Mohammad Azam Ansari, M. Murali, B. Daruka Prasad, Mohammad A. Alzohairy (2020) · Biomolecules
Functional and ultrastructural changes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus cells induced by Cinnamomum verum essential oil
Samira Bouhdid, Jamal Abrini, Mahassine Amensour, Abdesselam Zhiri (2010) · Journal of Applied Microbiology
Anticholinergic, antidiabetic and antioxidant activities of cinnamon ( cinnamomum verum ) bark extracts: polyphenol contents analysis by LC-MS/MS
İlhami Gülçın, Rüya Kaya, Ahmet C. Gören, Hülya Akıncıoğlu (2019) · International Journal of Food Properties
Evaluation of Traditional Indian Antidiabetic Medicinal Plants for Human Pancreatic Amylase Inhibitory Effect In Vitro
Sudha Ponnusamy, Remya Ravindran, Smita Zinjarde, Shobha Bhargava (2010) · Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Similar habitat climate the 6 species whose habitat climate is nearest this one's: mean day and night, month by month, and rain on a log scale, in calendar order, so a habitat with the same seasons six months out is far, not near. Nothing else counts: not range, not family.

Other Cinnamomum 3 in the reference

History & registers

Where this page came from built 2026-09-20 · dossier v2 · node
gbif.species answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-20 (offline re-derivation; the backbone was not asked)
gbif.synonyms answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-20 (offline re-derivation; the backbone was not asked)
gbif.vernacular answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-20 (offline re-derivation; the backbone was not asked)
wcvp.distribution answered
gbif.occurrences answeredGBIF occurrence download https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.3h4zam
climate answered
wikidata answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-20 (rederive); that build: carried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive); that build: carried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive)
wikipedia answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-20; this build: skipped
inat.taxon not askedcarried from build of 2026-09-20 (rederive)
inat.photos.wild answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-20; this build: skipped
inat.photos.cultivated nothing to reportcarried from build of 2026-09-20 (rederive); that build: carried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive); that build: carried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive)
commons not askedcarried from build of 2026-09-20 (rederive); that build: carried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive); that build: carried from build of 2026-09-19 (rederive)
gbif.media answered
openalex answeredcarried from build of 2026-09-20; this build: skipped

Every upstream is recorded as having answered, reported nothing, or refused. Only “nothing to report” is ever shown as an absence. Records came from 107 datasets via GBIF.org; each carries its own licence.