Tejpat

Description

Indian Cassia also known as Tejpat (Cinnamomum Tamala) is a small to moderately sized ever green tree. The leaves of this tree is the spice having clove like taste and a faintly pepper like odour. The tree has height up to 7.5 mtr with zigzag branching, trunk up to 95 cm girth, bark rough, dark grey to reddish brown in colour.

Origin and Distribution

Cinnamomoum tamala is mostly occurring in the tropical and sub-tropical Himalayas extending to North East India up to an altitude of 2000 meters MSL. It also grows in Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar. The leaves are harvested when the tree attains an age of 10 years which continue for a century. Mature leaves are collected during October to March.

Uses

The leaf is mainly used for flavouring food. It is widely used in pharmaceutical preparations because of its hypoglycemic, stimulant and carminative properties. It is also used in Indian system of traditional medicines.

Indian Name of Spices

Hindi : Tejpat Bengali : Tejpata Gujarati : Tamalapatra Kashmiri : Tejpata Malayalam : Tamalapatram Marathi : Darchini Punjabi : Tejpat Sanskrit : Tamalaka (Tejpatra) Tamil : Talishappattiri Telugu : Talisapatri Urdu : Tejpat

Foreign Name of Spices

Burmese : Thitchabo Chinese : Chai gui French : Laurier desIndes German : Indisches Lorbeerblatt Japanese : Tamara-nikkei Tezipatto Russian : Malabarskaya korista