ABSTRACT
Cassia (Cinnamonum cassia Blume) is native to southern China or northern Indochina. Less well known than its close relative, Ceylon cinnamon (C. zeylanicum Nees), cassia nonetheless has yielded cinnamon bark and cassia oil for many centuries. Seldom grown outside China, cassia offers promise as a new essential oil crop in the Humid Tropics. Cassia oil is especially prized for its rich warm flavor and fragrance, and is used as a perfume and flavoring ingredient. Little information is available outside China on cassia. This chapter presents information from China and elsewhere on the cultural requirements of cassia and its potential as a new crop.
