Canella
(a diminutive of canna, a reed; in allusion to the rolled bark, like cinnamon). ORD. Canellaceae. The best-known species of this genus is a very ornamental and economically valuable stove evergreen tree, which thrives in a mixture of loam and sand. Well-ripened cuttings, taken off at a joint, will root in sand, under a hand glass, with bottom heat, in April or May; but care should be taken not to deprive them of any of their leaves. Sweet says that large old cuttings are best.
C. alba (white).* fl. violet-colour, small, growing at the tops of branches in cluster, but upon divided peduncles. l. alternate, obovate, cuneated at the base, white, or glaucous beneath, somewhat coriaceous, sometimes full of pellucid dots. h. 15ft. The whole tree is very aromatic, and, when in blossom, perfumes the neighbourhood. The flowers dried, and softened again in warm water, have a fragrant odour, nearly approaching to that of Musk. The leaves have a strong smell of Laurel. West Indies, &c., 1735. (T. L. S. i., 8.)