cinnamon myrtle plant wanted

[flora]

hiya all,
i only just discovered there is a cinnamon myrtle along with lemon and aniseed.
if anyone has a plant available, i would be interested in a trade or buying one. i have seen them for sale online, i cant remember which nursery, but i just thought i'd ask here first anyways.
are these plants usually propagated by seed?

edit -> i guess this should have gone in the personal trade lists section

[klintj]

Cinnamon Myrtle is popular these days in nurseries so shouldn't be hard to find. Flower Power in Enfield (sydney) had quite a number on special about 5 weeks ago.

Also, Daleys Fruit (Www.daleysfruit.com.au) stock this plant at times too. They may have some now, i haven't checked.

There is also a Curry Myrtle, but whilst it has a curry fragrance, I am yet to see any documentation that will state it is edible, so therefore if you get this one, be careful of consuming it (Curry myrtle is available from Yuruga Nursery in Queensland - i've bought one from them about 12 months ago on Mail Order).

Which City/State do you live in? I could assist findign a place that may have it if need be.

Cheers,
Clint

[RedP]

Just a word of warning on this... I understand that there are about six variants of Backhousia myrtifolia, and only one is the 'true' cinnamon myrtle, presumably best propagated by cuttings.

However, many nurseries label all Backhousia myrtifolia as cinnamon myrtle, having cottoned on to the fact that it will sell better as such, and even though the flavour may be inferior. I've made this mistake myself, before I knew better.

So make sure you ask if the seller is stocking 'true cinnamon myrtle'. If you get a blank look, you can be pretty damn sure it's not the 'true' one!

Cheers, RedP

[stru]

I have one in flower at the moment...if you want the flower/seed head i'll post em to you.
As for a 'NON' cin' myrtle, i guess the best way to check how 'cinnamon-y' a one is, is pick a leaf and crush it up and smell it...if it smells like cinnamon which every myrtifolia i've evr planted does...then that's what it is. the smell intensifies once the leaves have dried. I use an electric coffe/spice grinder to crush it all up...good on pancakes.

[flora]

hmm thats interesting,
i actually found some at a local market on the weekend,
but i did crush the leaf and alas, it didnt smell very good, so i passed on it.
maybe should have kept it and dried it. i think it had the faintest smell when first crushed, but soon lost. i'll just keep searching and smelling i suppose.
so should seedgrown ones be good for their flavour stru?

[Thomas B]

Backhousia myrtifolia, or grey myrtle, is as common as anything, especially in riverine temperate rainforest, or dry rainforest on this side of the divide. I have crushed many leaves, and while they do have a nice scent, it's not a cinnamon smell exactly. Still good for cooking though, but more savoury. There's a situation with a lot of the Backhousias where there are chemovars with different essential oil makeups. One type of lemon myrtle has citronella rather than citral and is inedible, same with aniseed myrtle. The best thing to do is follow your nose. All Backhousias, (in fact all myrtles, including eucalypts and lillipillis) have scented leaves due to oil glands, so it must be pretty old foliage for it not to have a scent. None of the myrtles are toxic enough to do you any damage whatsoever before the aromatic flavour gets too strong, but I probably wouldn't mess around with Rhodomyrtus macrocarpa until the blindness-causing factor in this is identified. It probably doesn't have pleasantly scented leaves anyway.

[Michaelangelica]

Interesting, thanks.
I only knew about the anise flavored/smelling Backhousia.
Cinnamon sounds nice.

I have frequently found B. citriodora cuttings grow in to ground covers or 'hanging basket' plants with a prostrate habit! Weird!
BTW
The tree at Sydney Botanic Gardens has about a million seeds on it at the moment.

[klintj]

There is also a curry myrtle, part of the backhousia family, though the jury is still out on its safety still.

I have this and a few other backhousias as well.

Well seeming they have a few good ones, i felt why not find all the different varieties and make a colelction

[shaunrys]

The leaves of cinnamon myrtle have a cinnamon-like aroma sweet aroma and flavour, and can be used as a spice in various dishes. It’s used in savory recipes, deserts, confectionary and herbal teas.
The main essential oil isolate in cinnamon myrtle is elemicin, which is also a significant flavouring component in common nutmeg.

[Thomas B]

"Elemicin is partially responsible for the psychoactive effects of nutmeg" according to wikipedia.

Perhaps a thread should start in the medicinal and psychoactive plants forum?