Cinnamomum tamala
{{Short description|Species of tree}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{speciesbox
|name = Indian bay leaf
|image = Indian_bay_leaf_-_tejpatta_-_indisches_Lorbeerblatt.jpg
|image_caption = Semi-dried Indian bay leaves
|genus = Cinnamomum
|species = tamala
|authority = (Buch.-Ham.) T.Nees & C.H.Eberm.
|synonyms =
- Cinnamomum albiflorum Nees
- Cinnamomum cassia D.Don nom. illeg.
- Cinnamomum lindleyi Lukman.
- Cinnamomum macrocarpumGlossary of Indian Medicinal Plants
- Cinnamomum pauciflorum var. tazia (Buch.-Ham.) Meisn.
- Cinnamomum reinwardtii Nees
- Cinnamomum veitchii Lukman.
- Cinnamomum zwartzii Lukman.
- Laurus tamala Buch.-Ham.
|synonyms_ref = {{cite web|url=http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/kew-2721651|title=The Plant List: A Working List of all Plant Species}}
}}
Cinnamomum tamala, Indian bay leaf, also known as tejpat, tejapatta, Malabar leaf, Indian bark,{{GRIN | access-date = 12 December 2017}} Indian cassia, or malabathrum, is a tree in the family Lauraceae that is native to northern India (Assam and the Western Himalayas), Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, and southwestern China.{{cite web |title=Cinnamomum tamala |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:463718-1 |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens Kew |access-date=10 March 2025}} It can grow up to {{convert|20|m|abbr=on}} tall.{{cite web|url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200008729 |title=Cinnamomum tamala |author=Xi-wen Li, Jie Li & Henk van der Werff |work=Flora of China |publisher=Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA |access-date=29 March 2013}} Its leaves have a clove-like aroma with a hint of peppery taste; they are used for culinary and medicinal purposes. It is thought to have been one of the major sources of the medicinal plant leaves known in classic and medieval times as malabathrum (or malobathrum).{{cite book|author=Umberto Quattrocchi|title=CRC World Dictionary of Medicinal and Poisonous Plants: Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synonyms, and Etymology (5 Volume Set)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-37OBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA959|year=2016|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1-4822-5064-0|pages=959+}}
Characteristics
The leaves, known as tējapattā or tejpattā (तेजपत्ता) in Hindi, tejpāt (तेजपात/তেজপাত) in Nepali, Maithili and Assamese, tejpātā (তেজপাতা) in Bengali, vazhanayila/edanayila (വഴനയില/എടനഇല) in Malayalam, kaḍu dhālchini (:kn:ಕಾಡು ದಾಲ್ಚಿನ್ನಿ) in Kannada, and tamalpatra (તમલપત્ર) in Gujarati, or tamālpatra (तमालपत्र) in Marathi and in original Sanskrit, are used extensively in the cuisines of India, Nepal, and Bhutan, particularly in the Mughlai cuisine of North India and Nepal and in tsheringma herbal tea in Bhutan. They are called biryāni āku/baghāra āku (బిర్యానీ ఆకు/బగార ఆకు) in Telugu and tejåpåtrå/tejåpåtårå (ତେଜପତ୍ର/ତେଜପତର) in Odia.
The Lepcha of Sikkim call them {{lang|lep|naap saor koong}}.{{cite book |last1=Tamsang |first1=K.P. |title=The Lepcha-English Encyclopaedic Dictionary |date=1980 |publisher=Mrs. Mayel Clymit Tamsang |location=Kalimpong |page=509| isbn = 9632535979}}
File:Wrapped Kumbilappam - Kerala - IMG 20210331 171153.jpg
They are often used in kumbilappam or chakka-ada (ചക്ക അട), an authentic sweet from Kerala, infusing their characteristic flavor to the dumplings. They are often labeled as "Indian bay leaves," or just "bay leaf", causing confusion with the leaf from the bay laurel, a tree of Mediterranean origin in a different genus; the appearance and aroma of the two are quite different. Bay laurel leaves are shorter and light- to medium-green in color, with one large vein down the length of the leaf, while tejpat leaves are about twice as long and wider, usually olive green in color, with three veins down the length of the leaf. There are five types of tejpat leaves{{cite book|author1=P N Ravindran|author2=K Nirmal-Babu|author3=M Shylaja|title=Cinnamon and Cassia: The Genus Cinnamomum|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KZa8aPxR_-wC&pg=PA199|date=29 December 2003|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-0-203-59087-4|pages=199+}} and they impart a strong cassia- or cinnamon-like aroma to dishes, while the bay laurel leaf's aroma is more reminiscent of pine and lemon.
Aroma attributes
- Beta-caryophyllene{{cite journal| last1 = Ahmed| first1 = Aftab| title = Essential oil constituents of the spice Cinnamomum tamala (Ham.) Nees & Eberm.| journal = Flavour and Fragrance Journal| volume = 15| issue = 6| pages = 388–390| year = 2000| doi = 10.1002/1099-1026(200011/12)15:6<388::AID-FFJ928>3.0.CO;2-F| last2 = Choudhary| first2 = M. Iqbal | last3 = Farooq | first3 = Afgan| last4 =Demirci | first4 = Betül| last5 = Demirci| first5 = Fatih| last6 = Can Başer| first6 = K. Hüsnü |display-authors=etal| doi-access = free}}
- Linalool
- Caryophyllene oxide{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}}
- Eugenol{{cite journal| last1 = Dighe| first1 = V. V.| title = Quantitative Determination of Eugenol from Cinnamomum tamala Nees and Eberm. Leaf Powder and Polyherbal Formulation Using Reverse Phase Liquid Chromatography| journal = Chromatographia| volume = 61| issue = 9–10| pages = 443–446| year = 2005 | doi = 10.1365/s10337-005-0527-6| last2 = Gursale| first2 = A. A.| last3 = Sane| first3 = R. T.| last4 = Menon| first4 = S.| last5 = Patel| first5 = P. H.| s2cid = 97399632|display-authors=etal}}{{cite journal| last1 = Rao| first1 = Chandana Venkateswara| title = Antidiarrhoeal activity of the standardised extract of Cinnamomum tamala in experimental rats| journal = Journal of Natural Medicines| volume = 62| issue = 4| pages = 396–402| year = 2008| doi = 10.1007/s11418-008-0258-8| pmid = 18493839 | last2 = Vijayakumar | first2 = M | last3 = Sairam | first3 = K| last4 = Kumar| first4 = V| s2cid = 8641540|display-authors=etal}}
Uses
The bark is sometimes used for cooking, although it is regarded as inferior to true cinnamon or cassia.
Etymology
Malabar had been traditionally used to denote the west coast of Southern India that forms the present-day state of Kerala and adjoining areas. The word mala or malaya means "mountain" in the Tamil and Malayalam languages, as also in Sanskrit. The word "malabathrum" is thought to have been derived from the Sanskrit tamālapattram (तमालपत्त्रम्), literally meaning "dark-tree leaves".
Related species
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{cite journal |last1=Sharma |first1=Vasundhara |last2=Rao |first2=Lingamallu Jagan Mohan |title=An Overview on Chemical Composition, Bioactivity and Processing of Leaves of Cinnamomum tamala |journal=Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition |date=January 2014 |volume=54 |issue=4 |pages=433–448 |doi=10.1080/10408398.2011.587615 |pmid=24236996 |s2cid=46178245 }}
- {{cite journal |last1=Pandey |first1=A. K. |last2=Mishra |first2=A. K. |last3=Mishra |first3=A. |title=Antifungal and antioxidative potential of oil and extracts derived from leaves of Indian spice plant Cinnamomum tamala |journal=Cellular and Molecular Biology |date=22 December 2012 |volume=58 |issue=1 |pages=142–147 |pmid=23273204 |url=https://cellmolbiol.org/index.php/CMB/article/view/589 }}
- [http://gernot-katzers-spice-pages.com/engl/Cinn_tam.html Indian bay-leaf page from Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages]
{{Commons category|Cinnamomum tamala}}
{{Wikispecies|Cinnamomum tamala}}
{{Herbs & spices}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1661611}}
Category:Medicinal plants of Asia