Neocinnamomum

Neocinnamomum (新樟属, xin zhang shu) is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Lauraceae. They are evergreen shrubs or small trees, indigenous to Bhutan, China, India, Indonesia (Sumatra), Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam. [1][2]

Neocinnamomum
Neocinnamomum delavayi
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Magnoliids
Order:	Laurales
Family:	Lauraceae
Genus:	Neocinnamomum H.Liu
Species
See text

Neocinnamomum require a warm and wet climate with no extremes of heat and cold. They occupy mid to high elevations and montane laurel forests.[3]

Neocinnamomum leaves resemble those of true cinnamon (Cinnamomum) in possessing strongly three-veined blades, but they are arranged alternately rather than oppositely. The flowers are very small and bisexual.[2][4][5] The inflorescences are highly condensed, with poorly defined branching, their overall shape described as "glomerules".[4] Pollination is by insects.[6] The seeds are dispersed by birds, which eat the fruit which are berry-like drupes.[2] The red fruits of N. caudatum are eaten by humans.[7] The fruits are ellipsoid or globose (round). Some species also propagate vegetatively.[2]

Neocinnamomum mekongense is a species that grows in the mountains north of Dali, China. It is popular with butterflies, which possibly are attracted by secretions from extrafloral nectaries.[8]

It has been suggested that fossil flowers from the late Cretaceous of North America known as Neusenia tetrasporangi are a close match to Neocinnamomum,[9] and phylogenetic analysis from living plants might also indicate that Neocinnamomum is one of the earliest surviving lineages of the Lauraceae.[9]