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Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) is a small evergreen tree 10-15 m tall, belonging to the family Lauraceae, and a spice obtained from the inner bark of this species. It is native to Sri Lanka. The leaves are ovate-oblong in shape, 7-18 cm long. The flowers, which are arranged in panicles, have a greenish colour and a rather disagreeable odour. The fruit is a purple 1 cm berryThis article is about the fruit. For other meanings, please see Berry (disambiguation). In botany, a berry is the most common type of simple fleshy fruit one in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp . The ovary is always superior in t containing a single seedThis writeup is about biological seeds; for the Buddhist metaphor, see bija. A seed is the ripened ovule of gymnosperm or angiosperm plants. The importance of the seed relative to more primitive forms of reproduction and dispersal is attested to by the su.

Cinnamon is principally employed in cookery as a condiment and flavouring material, being largely used in the preparation of some kinds of chocolateChocolate is a common ingredient in many kinds of sweets—one of the most popular in the world. Chocolate is made from the fermented, roasted and ground seeds of the tropical cacao tree Theobroma cacao''. The resulting product is known as "chocolate," an i and liqueurA liqueur is a sweet alcoholic beverage, often flavored with fruits, herbs, or spices, and sometimes cream. Historically, they derive from herbal medicines, often those prepared by monks, as Benedictine. Liqueurs were made in Italy as early as the 13th ces. In medicine it acts like other volatile oils and once had a reputation as a "cure" for coldsThe common cold is a mild viral infectious disease of the nose and throat, the upper respiratory system. Its symptoms are sneezing, sniffing, running/blocked nose (often these occur simultaneously, or one in each nostril), scratchy, sore, or phlegmy throa. The pungent tasteTaste is one of the most common and fundamental of the senses in life on Earth. It is the direct detection of chemical composition, usually through contact with chemoreceptor cells. Taste is very similar to olfaction (the sense of smell), in which the che and scent come from cinnamic aldehyde or cinnamaldehydeCinnamic aldehyde or cinnamaldehyde (more precisely trans cinnamaldehyde the only naturally-occurring form) is the chemical compound that gives cinnamon its spice. Cinnamaldehyde occurs naturally in a the bark of cinnamon trees and other species of the ge.

The best cinnamon is from Sri Lanka, but the tree is also grown at Tellicherry in Java, Sumatra, the West Indies, Brazil, and Egypt. Sri Lanka cinnamon of fine quality is a very thin smooth bark, with a light-yellowish brown colour, a highly fragrant odour, and a peculiarly sweet, warm and pleasing aromatic taste. Its flavour is due to an aromatic oil which it contains to the extent of from 0.5 to 1%. This essential oil, as an article of commerce, is prepared by roughly pounding the bark, macerating it in sea-water, and then quickly distilling the whole. It is of a golden-yellow colour, with the peculiar odour of cinnamon and a very hot aromatic taste. It consists essentially of cinnamic aldehyde and, by the absorption of oxygen as it ages, darkens in colour and develops resinous compounds.

Cinnamon has been known from remote antiquity, and it was so highly prized among ancient nations that it was regarded as a present fit for monarchs and other great potentates. It is mentioned in Exodus 30: 23, where Moses is commanded to use both sweet cinnamon (Kinnamon) and cassia, and in Proverbs 7: 17-18, where the lover's bed is perfumed with myrrh, aloe and cinnamon. It is also alluded to by Herodotus and other classical writers.

Being a much more costly spice than cassia, that comparatively harsh-flavoured substance is frequently substituted for or added to it. The two barks when whole are easily enough distinguished, and their microscopic characteristics are also quite distinct. When powdered bark is treated with tincture of iodine (a test for starch), little effect is visible in the case of pure cinnamon of good quality, but when cassia is present a deep-blue tint is produced, the intensity of the coloration depending on the proportion of the cassia.

Culpepper's Herbal advises a daily draught of cinnamon in "any convenient liquor" against scurvy. Studies have found that using half a teaspoon of cinammon a day significantly reduces blood sugar levels in diabetics. The benefit, which can even be produced by soaking cinnamon in tea, also benefits non-diabetics who have blood sugar problem.