Physical description The cinnamon tree grows in moist well-drained soils and rarely reaches more than 15 metres (49 feet) in height. The thick simple leaves have smooth margins and are usually oval; the veins are roughly parallel to each other. Young leaves are red and mature to a deep green. The small bisexual flowers are greenish to yellow and are borne in clusters. The fruit is a dark drupe. cinnamon tree Leaves and flower clusters of a cinnamon tree (Cinnamomum verum). © chutima chaimratana/Shutterstock.com

cinnamon tree Trunk of a cinnamon tree (Cinnamomum verum). © blizzard87—iStock/Getty Images Cinnamon contains 0.5 to 1 percent essential oil, the principal component of which is cinnamic aldehyde. Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 First Edition with your subscription. Subscribe today

Harvest and processing The grower harvests the main crop in the wet season, cutting the shoots close to the ground. In processing, the shoots are first scraped with a semicircular blade and then rubbed with a brass rod to loosen the bark, which is split with a knife and peeled. The peels are telescoped one into another, forming a quill about 107 cm (42 inches) long and filled with trimmings of the same quality bark to maintain a cylindrical shape. After four or five days of drying, the quills are rolled on a board to tighten the filling and then placed in subdued sunlight for further drying. Finally, they are bleached with sulfur dioxide and sorted into grades. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

This article was most recently revised and updated by Melissa Petruzzello , Assistant Editor.