Table 1.

Morphological description of four Cinnamomum species

Parameters	Cinnamomum species
	CB	CC	CL	CV
Macroscopic characters
Outer bark	Reddish brown with whitish patches of lichens and pale wavy longitudinal striations	Greyish brown with random greyish white patches of corks and irregular wrinkles	Dark brown with greyish patches of lichens and fine wrinkles	Dull yellowish brown with faint scars and wavy pale longitudinal striation
Inner bark	Dark blackish brown	Reddish brown	Reddish brown	Dark brown
Shape	Double quills	Single quills	Double quills	Compound quills
Texture	Smooth and very hard to break	Rough and hard to break	Rough and hard to break	Smooth and brittle
Thickness	1.22–2.89 mm	2.04–2.46 mm	3.68–4.30 mm	0.41–0.72 mm
Fracture	Short and tough	Short and tough	Short and tough	Short, fibrous, and splintery
Microscopic characters
Cork and cortex	Present	Present	Present	Cork absent Partial cortex present
Sclereids	Long and big	Long and big	Long and big	Small
Oil cells	Few	Few	Few	Many
Medullary rays	2–3 layered	2–3 layered	2–3 layered	Biseriate
Starch grains	Many	Many	Many	Few

CB C. burmannii; CC C. cassia; CL C. loureiroi; CV C. verum