MELALEUCA CAJAUPUTI. Roxb.
M. minor, Smith, D.C.
Thit-tha hpu tshi, BURN. I Kayu-puteh, . MALAY. Cajaput tree, . . ENG.
The Oil.
Kayu-puteh-ka-tel, HIND. I Kayu-puteh-tailam, . TAN. Ka MAL.
The Malaya give the name of Kayu-puteh both to M. cajaputi and M. leucadendron. It is a small tree with an erect but crooked stem, covered with thick, rather soft, light - coloured bark ; branches scattered, with slender twigs, which droop like those of the weeping willow. It is a native of the Molucca Islands, especially of Boeroe, Manipe, and of the S. of Borneo. According to Dr. Mason, is indigenous in the Karen forests of the southern provinces of Tenasserim, but Dr. Mason has not observed it north of the valley of the Palouk river, about lat. 13° N. The leaves are collected on a warm, dry day in autumn, and placed in dry sacks, in which they become heated and moist. They are then cut in pieces, macerated
in water for a night, and then distilled. Two sackfuls of the leaves yield only about 3 drachms of the oil. This is clear and limpid, of a light green colour, very volatile, diffusing a powerful odour, having a warm aromatic taste, something resembling that of camphor, followed by a sense of coolness. Sp. gr. 0.914 to 0.927; soluble in alcohol. When the leaves are distilled with water, a light and colourless oil first comes over, and then a green-coloured and denser oil, which, with less odour, is more acrid. It is sometimes adulterated with the oils of rosemary and of camphor; it is diffusible, stimulant, antispasmodic ; and is used externally in rheumatism.—Royle ; Craufurd ; 111orrison ; Com. Desc. p. 9; O'Sh. ; Roxb.; Mason ; Voiyt.