Cinnamon
The spice known as “cinnamon” is obtained from the bark of several different species of tree from the genus Cinnamomum in the Laurel family. The genus’s center of diversity is located in tropical Southeast Asia.
Common species of cinnamon include Chinese cinnamon (Cinnamomum aromaticum syn. cassia), Indonesian cinnamon (Cinnamomum burmanii), and Ceylon cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum). These three species are popular and commonly imported in the US, but unfortunately, absolutely cannot grow here in the Pacific Northwest. It’s just too cold here. Only the warmest parts of the country even have a chance of successfully cultivating the tropical trees.
The Cinnamomum genus, however, is large, and it contains some plants that can handle colder temperatures. These species cannot be used exactly like commercially sold cinnamons, but I think they’re interesting to consider as experimental spices for the Pacific Northwest.
In addition to those, there are also a couple of closely related trees in the genus Camphora that can also be grown here. The genus Cinnamomum was recently found to be polyphyletic, so some trees that were formerly included in Cinnamomum were moved to Camphora. Due to their historic classification and similarities, I’ve chosen to include them in this article.
Depending on the species, cinnamon plants are used in various ways. In the US and Europe, it’s mainly the bark of cinnamon trees that is used as a spice, but the leaves and flowers of other species are used in Indian, Middle Eastern, and Carribean cuisines, among others.
Commercial cinnamons
None of these species can be grown in the Pacific Northwest, but they are commonly sold and traded across the United States.
Chinese cinnamon (Cinnamomum cassia), or “cassia”, is from southern China and Vietnam. This is one the most popular cinnamon types in the United States - it possibly accounts for the vast majority of all cinnamon here. Cassia cinnamon is harvested from mature trees by cutting them down and peeling the bark off of the trunk. The bark is then dried into quills.
Indonesian cinnamon (Cinnamomum burmanii) is produced similarly to cassia. Both cassia and Indonesian cinnamon are often claimed to be most sold variety in the United States, but I haven’t been able to confirm which one is, since the exact variety of cinnamon is very rarely listed when sold. Both are highly similar and it is difficult to distinguish between the two.
Ceylon cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) is from Sri Lanka. This is the cinnamon species used in Mexican cuisine. Unlike the previous two species, it is harvested from the inner bark of coppiced branches rather than the bark of the trunk.
Species
Cinnamons
Okinawan cinnamon tree (Cinnamomum sieboldii)
Japanese cinnamon tree (Cinnamomum chekiangensis)
Wilson’s cinnamon (Cinnamomum wilsonii)
Camphors
Camphor tree (Camphora officinarum)
Martaban camphor tree (Camphora parthenoxylon)
Hardy cinnamons
The hardiest cinnamon species are found in Japan, which is home to two native, cold-hardy species: Japanese cinnamon (Cinnamomum chekiangensis) and Okinawan cinnamon (Cinnamomum sieboldii).
Japanese cinnamon (Cinnamomum japonicum) grows in China, Korea, and especially Japan. The species C. yabunikkei, C. chekiangensis, and C. tenuifolium may or may not be distinct; the taxonomy is not clear at this time and these may just be synonyms for the same plant. For the purposes of this discussion, I am going to treat them as one.
The tree is cold-hardy down to about 0°F, and is available from local nurseries such as Xera and Cistus, which report that the evergreen tree does well in our climate, although it does require summer water to thrive. There are a handful of them growing in the Pacific Northwest, including in Portland.
In fact, I was able to track down a couple trees in my Portland neighborhood. The trees were on the parking strip in front of a house. Since they are in front of someone’s private residence, I only picked up a handful of leaves off the ground to test. I took the leaves home and ground up them up into a powder, which I then dried. The powder was aromatic and flavorful. It is reminiscent of cinnamon bark and camphor, though significantly less powerful, and has a grassy, tea-like flavor as well. I ended up baking the spice into a pumpkin tart. The flavor is actually very pleasant and I would absolutely use it again.
It seems highly likely that the tree bark and root bark is aromatic, but I’m not able to confirm it at this time, since harvesting the bark would be too invasive and would likely mean damaging the tree. I haven’t found any sources that speak of using it in such a way, and the Japanese name for the tree, "yabu nikkei" (藪肉桂), meaning “useless cinnamon”, would suggest that it isn’t.
In Japan, the name “nikkei” (肉桂) refers to Okinawan cinnamon (Cinnamomum sieboldii). Okinawan cinnamon is a native, traditional cinnamon from the northern part of Okinawa. In contrast to the imported “shina nikkei” (支那肉桂), or cassia cinnamon, its bark is not strongly fragrant, and it’s the root bark, instead, that was used as a spice. Okinawan cinnamon was grown as early as the 1700s, during the Edo period in Japan. The spice was used in confections such as “yatsuhashi”. The leaves were also used for wrapping foods such as the bean paste confection “kesen dango”. Okinawan cinnamon appears to be the best candidate for a classic cinnamon spice that can be grown in the Pacific Northwest. The main drawback to Okinawan cinnamon is that the harvest cycle is long. One source stated that it took 10 to 15 years to grow a tree to a harvestable size.
I have not been able to pinpoint the exact hardiness of the species, but it is documented that Okinawan cinnamon was traditionally grown in the cities of Kagoshima and Kochi, which are growing regions for cold-hardy citrus. I think it’s reasonable to believe that the trees could be grown in the mildest parts of our region, such as the southern coast of Oregon.
So far, I have not been able to get a hold of Cinnamonum sieboldii. The spice, although historically significant in Japan, seems to be somewhat rare today, and it is virtually non-existent outside of Japan. Although I was able to find, for example, a tea made with nikkei leaves, I can’t purchase it from here in Oregon. Hopefully, I can find a way to try it in the future.
Besides the two previous species, there is also Wilson’s cinnamon (Cinnamomum wilsonii), which is mentioned in a couple of obscure references as a harvested spice - specifically, that the leaves and fruit are used. I haven’t been able to find much more information so far, but the tree is definitely hardy to our area. It is confirmed to be as hardy as Cinnamomum japonicum.
Camphors
Camphor was historically extracted from the camphor tree (Camphora officinarum), but today most is a synthetic product. Camphor is a waxy substance that is also found in small amounts in rosemary. If you’ve ever used Tiger Balm as a pain reliever, you may recognize its smell.
Although camphor is toxic in large quantities, edible or culinary camphor is used in Indian cuisine, particularly in sweets, and has a long history of use in cuisines from the Middle East and Asia.
The camphor tree can apparently withstand temperatures down to 15°F, but probably does best in the warmest parts of our greater region.
The yellow camphor tree (Camphora parthenoxylon), also sometimes listed as C. porrectum, is reported by Cistus Nursery to be hardy to below 10°F. Due to its use in safrole production, the tree is endangered in its native range. The bark is apparently used as a spice, but there’s not a lot of information out there.
