A photocollage of cover and 2 inside pages of “The Science of Spice” by Stuart Farrimond. See References, below.

Cinnamon and Cassia, Leaf or Bark?

Cinnamon Leaf Essential Oil (Cinamomum verum) is a somewhat controversial essential oil. Most of the time, if you see a description of Cinnamon spice or essential oil, it’s for the oil of the “bark” or quills, from the whole spice cinnamon that is available for purchase and culinary adventures.

What’s little known about “Cinnamon” is that the name Cinnamon covers two major trees, one is commonly known as Cinnamon and the other, Cassia. Perhaps the reason is both tree parts (leaves and/or bark) have the component “cinnamaldehyde”, which is the characteristic aroma we call Cinnamon.

Confusing? Yes, a bit.

Why you should choose Cassia over Cinnamon, or vice versa, as a spice and for what benefit is a topic in this post and one to follow on the essential oils of Cinnamon.

A Plant Pedigree

There are a whole set of scientific terms or taxononomies in naming plants. Yet they can be daunting to understand. I’d love to explain the categories of known plants in really simple terms, so that the naming conventions used by herbalists, professional chefs and cooks would make sense. So, I thought of reaching into this phrase, “plant pedigree” for my explanation. It’s my hope that with pedigree instead of taxon, a scientific term, the idea behind the system of naming plants can become clear. And why we need this assortment of names. We usually think of pedigree as appropriate for animals. So, I hope you can forgive me for that which is borrowed from a term usually used for pets.

First, What’s In a Plant Name?

In the market for, or generally thinking about choosing an herb or spice or essential oil? For the purpose of selecting a single plant essense, with just three names, you arrive at a plant’s pedigree. Those three are family, genus, and species names. Please let me clarify this!

With just three distinctions, often among hundreds of plants, I can select the exact plant or essence that I need. Then, choosing carefully between family name and general/spcific name, I can be sure that the qualitites I desire are those that I’ve used before, or have heard about and wish to try. Though I don’t always need to know the family name, it’s quite helpful when the exact one I wanted isn’t available. See below.

If there is such a thing as a plant pedigree, it likely has to do with a plant that was bred for certain characteristics. What I’m thinking about here is the starting point, why the general and specific names are important. We need pedigrees because common names like apple, sage, thyme, or cinnamon, etc. tend to be local terms, referring to general ingredients rather than specific fruits, leaves, or herbs. A “plant pedigree” consists of a series of names that distinctively define any one plant or plant part that we use. Such naming conventions contain a hierarchy or system of organizing certain facts about a plant. This system or hierarchy begins at the kingdom and ends at a species name — it can contain 7 or 8 steps of names. For this post, I am focusing on three steps, that of family, genus and species.

Who Needs This Specificity Anyway?

Whether we’re choosing for taste or aroma, what all Aromatherapists, Herbalists, Biologists, Researchers, and Cooks! want are specific plants. Their work depends on being clear about which plant constituents, aromas, and benefits they may be working with. Here you might think about the strength of the spice in terms of how “cinnamony” versus nuance-y with floral-like aromas.

With the pedigree, what we look for are the names that unquestionably define which Cinnamon you want to bake with: is it Vietnamese Cinnamon or Sri Lankan? By pedigree, I’m thinking of the specific name given to each plant. These are the genus name or in this case, Cinnamomum, and species name, or the name I look for to distinguish the Vietnamese Cinnamon from Sri Lankan Cinnamon. And it turns out there are many, hundreds of Cinnamons!

The General and the Specific — Two-part Names

Plants are grouped in logical structures that specifically define them.

An individual plant has the pedigree of its full, or two-part, botanical name — genus and species names as in the paragraph above — with an abbreviation for variety, or chemotype (for Aromatherapy) if appropriate. For example, we have a Cypress properly represented as Cupressus sempervirens.

Because we are working with a collection of aromatic plants, then we find that rather than a “whole bunch” of aromas, we use the plant pedigree, a.k.a. classifications or categories, so the aroma you’re looking for doesn’t get lost in the shuffle of many available scents. Or, worse, diluted by other species so that you are left with a fraction of the scent or flavor you desire. In fact, it’s really good that we have categories to represent plants. But at the same time, it may look complicated and seem like a lot to master. Looking for the botanical name makes this a lot easier.

A Twist in the Family

I’ve been pointing to a difference between plants and why the specific name is important. Getting really definite about the exact plant I want to use is so important. Still, there’s an art to distinguishing among plants.

Sometimes the family name, at the top in the hiearchy of family, genus, and species, helps to distinguish between plants. In my example of Cinnamon, both trees or shrubs are classified in the Lauraceae, or Laurel family. In the Lauraceae family you will find familiar culinary spices, as well. Using this idea of family traits, an Aromatherapist would intuit the intensity of aromas, and the specific actions coming from Lauraceae plants.

Many times, an herbalist will refer to a category of herbs from a “family” of plants. While researching an aromatic plant, herbalists and aromatherapists are so glad for these naming conventions! It gives us more than one way to remember all the bits of info we need. And here’s why: a category such as a family can sometimes cover lots of specifics for a number of plants! This works out chemically sometimes as well. For example, substances in the essences of Laurel family plants have the specific healing quality we are looking for.

Plant Availability?

Preferring the name of a family, rather than a specfic name, gets you a general set of characteristics. If you know what family or category of plants to work with, then it follows that blends can be formulated and substitutions can be made easily. Not 100% per cent of the time. Just often enough to ease the burden of not having a photographic memory for all that you read!

In short, being certain you’ve got the right aromatic plant for your intention is the surest way to obtain the quality you’re looking for. Determine the botanical name of an essential oil and you can be certain you’re dealing with the correct ingredient for emotional or physical healing. That way the benefits of the aroma you seek are available to you, you are not pursuing it fruitlessly.

Which Cinnamon do you want to bake with: is it Vietnamese Cinnamon or Sri Lankan?

According to author-food scientist Stuart Farrimond, you’ll choose Cassia to bake a classic recipe of Cinnamon Rolls, but select Cinnamon for baking with fruit. His reason has to do with the flowering of the spice in a recipe–something that happens more delicately and slowly with Cinnamon yet more intensely with Cassia.

Stay tuned for more on Cinnamon leaf in essential oils–the non-edible cinnamon we look to for easing pain, healing skin infection, and restorative actions on the emotions.

References:

The Science of Spice: Understand Flavor Connections and Revolutionize Your Cooking by Stuart Farrimond, 2018. Published by DK Publishing, NY

This post is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice.

Plant Pedigree–What’s in a Name?