Laurus bejolghota Buchanan-Hamilton, Trans. Linn. Soc. London 13: 559. 1822; Cinnamomum obtusifolium (Roxburgh) Nees; L. obtusifolia Roxburgh.

Small to large trees, 5-25 m tall, up to 30 cm d.b.h. Bark green, scented. Branches always opposite, robust; branchlets terete or obtusely tetragonous, red-brown when dry, puberulent initially soon glabrate. Buds small, ovoid; bud scales densely sericeous. Leaves subopposite; petiole robust, 1-1.5 cm, plano-convex; leaf blade greenish or yellow-green and ± glaucous abaxially, green and shiny adaxially, elliptic-oblong, 12-30 × 4-9 cm, thickly leathery, glabrous on both surfaces, trinerved or triplinerved, basal lateral veins arising 0.5-1.5 cm above leaf base, oblique, lateral veins and midrib extending to leaf apex, conspicuously elevated abaxially, slightly impressed or elevated adaxially, transverse veins and veinlets reticulate, slightly conspicuous abaxially, inconspicuous adaxially, base subrounded or attenuate, margin entire, apex obtuse, acute, or acuminate. Panicle axillary on upper part of branchlet, 13-16 cm, densely many flowered, much branched; branches ca. 3 cm; peduncle 7-11 cm, peduncle and rachis sparsely gray pubescent. Pedicels 4-6 mm, gray pubescent. Flowers yellow, up to 6 mm. Perianth tube short, obconical, ca. 1 mm; perianth lobes 6, ovate-oblong, ca. 5 × 2.5 mm, acute, gray pubescent except apex subglabrous on both surfaces. Fertile stamens 9, ca. 3.5 mm (of 1st and 2nd whorls) or ca. 3.7 mm (of 3rd whorl); filaments complanate, those of 3rd whorl each with 2 long stalked orbicular-reniform glands, others glandless; anthers of 1st and 2nd whorls ovate-oblong, almost as long as filaments and with introrse cells, those of 3rd whorl narrower, oblong, ca. 1.7 mm, with extrorse cells. Staminodes 3, conspicuous, sagittate-deltoid, ca. 3 mm, long stalked. Ovary oblong, ca. 1.5 mm; style slender, up to 3 mm; stigma discoid. Fruit ellipsoid, ca. 1.3 × 0.8 cm, green when fresh; perianth cup in fruit yellow but purple-red tinged, somewhat dilated, obconical, apex up to 7 mm wide, dentate, teeth truncate; fruit stalk purple, somewhat dilated. Fl. Mar-Apr, fr. May-Jul.

The wood is finely grained, somewhat soft, and used for house construction. Volatile oil is derived from the leafy branchlets, roots, and bark by steam distillation. The bark powder is the source of an important spice, used especially by local people in Hainan.

Sparse or dense forests on mountain slopes and in valleys; 600-1800 m. S Guangdong, Hainan, S Yunnan [Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam].