Bark anatomy of four species of Cinnamomum (Lauraceae) from Kerala

Bark anatomy of four species of Cinnamomum - three cultivated ( C. verum, C. cassia, C. camphora ) and the most common wild cinnamon ( C. malabatrum ) arereporLed here. They differ with regard to many characters such as the nature of the scierenchymatous groups in the pericyciic region, nature of the phloem rays, distl;bution of phloem fibres and in the presence of crystalline inclusions. The differences in the bark structure are useful in distinguishing the genuineness of the true cinnamon ( C. verum ) bark and also in the taxonomy of the genus.