Ceylon cinnamon

After nutmeg, the second scent of the “Spice Isle” – rolled cinnamon sticks are sold at every market in St. George’s.

An evergreen tree of the laurel family, pruned in cultivation into a shrub so that it produces plenty of young shoots. It has leathery, glossy leaves with three prominent veins, which are reddish when young. The spice is obtained from the inner layer of bark of the young shoots: once stripped and dried, it curls into the familiar sticks. The species originates from Sri Lanka but is grown in many humid tropical countries.

Significance in the country

Cinnamon is one of the spices that earned Grenada its nickname “Spice Isle”; it is grown on smallholdings alongside nutmeg and clove trees, and cinnamon sticks and leaves go into local infusions, baking and desserts.

Where it grows

In gardens and on small plantations in the humid interior of the main island, including Saint John, Saint Mark, Saint Andrew and Saint David.

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