(Cinnamonum camphora)
Folk Names: Laurel Camphor, Gum Camphor
Description: The camphor tree is a member of the Laurel family. It grows in tropical and subtropical regions of China, Japan, and Taiwan at elevations between 4000 and 7000 feet above sea level. This evergreen tree reaches from fifty to one hundred feet tall, but cultivated trees are kept pruned to five or six feet. The leaves are pale green, and glaucous underneath. They are alternating, ovate-acuminate, and leathery with three distinct veins. Juvenile leaves are rosy in juvenile stages. Little, whitish-yellow flowers appear in axillary panicles. The fruit are small ovoid drupes and are dark purplish-red when ripe.
Effects: gentle
Planet: Moon
Element: Water
Associated Deities:
Traditions:
Camphor has been used in some embalming rituals, especially by the Chinese. The wood is used in some ritual masks for ceremonial theater in Buddhist temples. Marco Polo mentioned it in his writings, calling it the “balsam of disease.”
Camphor has become naturalized to Australia where it is considered something of a weed plant.
Magic:
In Borneo, camphor is linked to fidelity. Men study the knots in the tree to determine if their wives have been faithful. The plant or oil may be sniffed to lessen lust or grown beside the bed.
Camphor may be added to divinatory incense, or added as a liquid to water for scrying.
Camphor is also traditional incense for rituals of death and dying and is used to cleanse the deceased of negative energies. It will purify an area of negativity and evil, and may be used before moving into new home or when cleaning a temple or ritual area.
A bag of camphor or bark around the neck is said to prevent colds and influenza.
Known Combinations:
None noted
Medical Indications: (Caution: Prolonged exposure to fumes can cause poisoning, and large doses are also poisonous.) Parts Used: oil
Camphor oil is soothing for bruises, sprains, inflammations, gout, and rheumatic joints. Internally it has been used for hysteria, epilepsy, and heart problems. The smell of camphor is healing for sufferers of asthma, bronchitis, and emphysema, but be aware of the caution above.
Nutrition:
none
Mercantile Uses:
The essential oil is contained in all tissues of tree, but mostly in hollows found naturally in the wood. Once extracted from the tree by felling, the oil is now extracted from leaves and young branches, and the tree is not cut until is fifty years old or older. The leaves are harvested three to four times a year.
The oil is used in a variety of industries. It is an insecticide and moth repellant. It is also used in deodorants, disinfectants, explosives, paint solvents, perfumes, and soaps. Camphor may be put in shoes to help with smelly, perspiring feet.
Camphor wood is used for chests, especially sailors', because it resists the salt air. Silver is said not to tarnish in a chest of camphor wood. Moths and other insects are also deterred by the wood due to the oil it contains. Camphor wood is extremely expensive however.