Ten years ago, Kriepob Limkangwalmongkol wrote to say that Phuket, where he lived, had many Chinese Taoist temples and they burned quite a lot of mai juang, or theptaro wood, to cleanse the atmosphere during their numerous ceremonies, especially during the annual vegetarian festival.
“Theptaro trees can grow to over 10 metres, and smell like root beer,” he wrote. “Their acorn-size seeds also produce fragrant oil. In Trang, the wood is often carved into the shape of dugong and sold at Otop fairs.
“I understand that it is the official tree of Phangnga province, and still readily found in rubber plantations and mountains. However, due to increasing consumption without replanting, I foresee that theptaro trees will be harder to find as the years go by.”
Concerned that the unsustainable use of the tree would push it to the verge of extinction if nothing was done to conserve it, Mr Kriepob planned to buy a piece of land in Phangnga and develop it into a theptaro woodland for future use.
Theptaro (Cinnamomum porrectum) is native to India, Myanmar, Indochina, Indonesia, South China, Peninsular Malaysia and southern Thailand, particularly Phangnga, Krabi, Trang and Pattalung. Also known variously as Cinnamomum glanduliferum, Cinnamomum partheno-xylon and Cinnamomum sumatranum, it belongs to the laurel family (Lauraceae).
According to A Dictionary of the Economic Products of the Malay Peninsula, all the nearly 30 or so species in this genus are aromatic. The trees do not smell the same, however, as their aromas depend upon the essential oils running in their cells. Some, like the true cinnamon, carry cinnamic aldehyde, or cinnamaldehyde; some carry eugenol and smell like cloves; some carry safrol and smell like sassafras; and some contain camphor.
In some species of Cinnamomum, the stems, roots and leaves smell the same, as they contain the same substances, but in other species the substance found in the stems may not be the same as that found in the roots and leaves, thus the various parts of the tree smell differently.
If you still haven’t guessed what type of substance the theptaro carries, its English name, safrol laurel, should give it away. The safrol found in the wood is extracted and used as scent for soaps, while the bark is usually used as a spice to flavour food. A decoction made from the bark is also considered an excellent tonic, especially for women after childbirth.
Timber trees: Minor Commercial Timbers, published by Plant Resources of Southeast Asia, describes Cinnamomum porrectum as a medium-sized to large, more or less deciduous tree growing to a height of 45 metres, with open crown and straight trunk. It has tiny, pale yellow, sweetly fragrant flowers. It can be found from lowlands to montane forests, and thrives on both fertile and poor but well-drained soils, even in regions with a pronounced dry season.
Its wood is considered fairly durable, is brownish in colour and is valued for general construction as well as cabinet work. It takes at least 10 years for the tree to be of commercial use. But as Mr Kriepob observed, it is very much in demand for use in religious ceremonies as well as in the woodcarving industry, and if nothing is done to replant it, there might come a time when trees in the wild disappear.
Scent: Cinnamon bark is used as a spice.
When he wrote to me 10 years ago, I advised Mr Kriepob to contact the Royal Forest Department’s propagation and extension station in Thepkasatri, in Phuket’s Thalang district. During a visit to Phuket a few months earlier, I interviewed the officer in charge of the station and he told me that they were sowing seeds for reforestation purposes, and seedlings were given free to anyone who wanted them. He added that if members of the public would specify what kinds of trees they wanted, forestry officers might be able to sow seeds in time for them to transplant the seedlings at the start of the rainy season the following year.
Last week, Mr Kriepob sent me an email to update me on his planned theptaro woodland. He bought a piece of land in Phangnga’s Thap Phut district in 2007, he said, but finding saplings to plant “was most tedious and troublesome”. His visit to the forestry station proved fruitless, as it did not have theptaro seedlings to give away.
It was not until 2009 that his search led him to Wat Thai Muang in Phangnga’s Thai Muang district, which had many trees planted by its abbot, Phra Ajarn Sa-Ngern. “The temple is like a forest, with many takien thong (Hopea odorata), mahogany and theptaro trees,” Mr Kriepob wrote. “The abbot called it the ‘green lung for Thai Muang’, and he was kind enough to propagate hundreds of saplings for me to start my project.”
A few weeks ago, the abbot visited Mr Kriepob’s woodland for the first time and was impressed by what he saw. The trees planted six and a half years ago are now more than 15 metres tall and bearing fruit. Knowledgeable about plants and trees, the abbot advised Mr Kriepob to extract essential oils from the theptaro seeds and roots, and dry the leaves as herbal tea.
Most species of Cinnamomum yield a volatile oil, the uses of which depends on the species and the parts from which the oil was extracted. Usually the oil is extracted from the bark; the genus coppices well, that is, if the tree is cut down, five or more grow around the stump. In China, theptaro oil is distilled for use in perfumery.
Tests on steam-distilled oil from the roots of Cinnamomum porrectum found the oil to have antibacterial and antifungal activity. The study, led by microbiologist Souwalak Phongpaichit of Prince of Songkla University, was published in the January 2007 issue of the Songklanakarin Journal of Science and Technology.
Mr Kriepob is now about to produce cool-pressed, undiluted theptaro oil for sale. Apart from its uses in perfumery and pharmacology, the oil provides a refreshing scent for soaps. Any buyers?
Tall order: Kriepob Limkangwalmongkol’s theptaro plantation in Thap Put district of Phangnga. Trees planted more than six years ago are now 15 metres tall and bearing fruit.
This source first appeared on Bangkok Post Lifestyle.