Neolitsea cassia Neolitsea cassia Neolitsea cassia is a species of tree in the Lauraceae family. It is endemic to Sri Lanka. It is known as "dawulu kurundu - දවුල් කුරුදු" or "kudu dawula - කුඩු දවුල" in Sinhala. Bark - thick, smooth, gray; W- light, hard, pale orange. Montane and rain forest understory. Wood - panelling; leaves- mucilaginous extract used in preparation of local sweet called "aasmi" ; Bark,leaves- medicinal. Straight stem with greyish bark and short, slender branches. The leaf flush is smooth, silvery copper, drooping, crowded at the ends of branchlets, and turn bright green when mature. Leaves are lanceolate
Spice Africa. Arab merchants facilitated the routes through the Middle East and India. This resulted in the Egyptian port city of Alexandria being the main trading center for spices. The most important discovery prior to the European spice trade were the monsoon winds (40 CE). Sailing from Eastern spice cultivators to Western European consumers gradually replaced the land-locked spice routes once facilitated by the Middle East Arab caravans. In the story of Genesis, Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers to spice merchants. In the biblical poem Song of Solomon, the male speaker compares his beloved to many forms of