Abstract:
Wild relatives of cultivated cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum J. Presl) are underutilized and endangered in Sri
Lanka. There is a lack of knowledge on wild relatives of cinnamon, hampering their utilization in breeding and
industry. Morphology, floral behaviour and leaf essential oil composition of selected wild relatives were
determined under ex-situ conservation in Dalpitiya, Sri Lanka. Floral cycles were determined in Cinnamomum
dubium Nees (Cd) and Cinnamomum litsaeifolium Thwaites (Cl) along with Cinnamomum verum (Cv) variety Sri
Gemunu (SG). Cl and SG belonged to type A, while Cd was type B of protogynous dichogamy. Partial overlapping
of male and female phases in types A and B may lead to self-pollination. Leaf morphological characters varied
among species. Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry revealed 34, 34, 12, 48, 8 and 18 chemical compounds
from Cinnamomum capparu-coronde Blume (Cc), Cd, Cl (1), Cl (2), SG and variety Sri Wijaya (SW) respectively.
The highest abundant chemical compound in leaf oil varied as Eugenol in Cc, SG and SW (33.11%, 82.11% and
90.80% respectively), Methyl eugenol in Cl (1) (59.27%), Eucaliptol in Cd (51.19%) and Linalool in Cl (2)
(30.93%). The above variation of wild cinnamon provides insights on future cinnamon breeding and industry.
