The true cinnamon tree, if left in its natural states, varies in height and dimensions in different sections, growing to the height of twenty to forty feet with a straight trunk, and is from twelve to eighteen inches in diameter. It is the hardiest of any of the spice trees, and in its natural climate grows on almost any soil and at almost any elevation, with an average temperature of 85 degrees and an inch of rainfall for every degree. It may be grown by cultivation in any place where it is found growing wild. When sheltered from the wind and the direct rays of the hot sun, it will grow from 1,500 to 8,000 feet above the sea level. It is found in those angles of the mountains which face the monsoons. Where it is cultivated, it is cut back when six years old to about fifteen feet and every two years thereafter, and then has the general appearance of an orange tree. It is an evergreen with a beautiful scarlet foliage which changes to a dark glossy green. The leaf and leaf stalk are globous and are nearly opposite, oblong, ovate, obtuse, the largest being from eleven to twelve centimeters in length and from five to seven centimeters in width. The leaf is coriaceous and shining bright green above and glaucous beneath. Besides the middle vein there are also two other veins on each side starting from the stalk, rounded to the shape of the edge of the leaf nearly to its extremity. The leaves on drying acquire a reddish-brown color due to the oxidation of the essential oil which they contain. Small, dingy, white or greenish blossoms disposed in terminal panicles appear in January or February, their strong and unpleasant odor resembling a mixture of lilac and rose. In color they resemble mignonette. By May they develop into small, purplish, brown-colored berries enclosed at the base by a calyx and shaped like an acorn. The berry contains a soft brown pulp and has but one seed, which ripens in August and is gathered by the natives for the fragrant oil it contains.