Cinnamomum cassia elongated leaves that are long and have a decidedly reddish colour when young. Chinese cassia is a close relative to Ceylon cinnamon ("C. verum"), Saigon cinnamon ("C. loureiroi"), also known as "Vietnamese cinnamon", Indonesian cinnamon ("C. burmannii"), also called "korintje", and Malabar cinnamon ("C. citriodorum") from Sri Lanka. In all five species, the dried bark is used as a spice. Chinese cassia's flavour is less delicate than that of Ceylon cinnamon. Its bark is thicker, more difficult to crush, and has a rougher texture than that of Ceylon cinnamon. Most of the spice sold as cinnamon in the United States,
Cassia (gens) namesakes are the Via Cassia, the road to Arretium, and the village of Cassianum Hirpinum, originally an estate belonging to one of this family in the country of the Hirpini. Their most famous member is Gaius Cassius Longinus, an assassin of Julius Caesar alongside Brutus. A possible clue to the origin of the Cassii is the "cognomen Viscellinus" or "Vecellinus", borne by the first of this gens to appear in history. It appears to be derived from the town of Viscellium or Vescellium, a settlement of the Hirpini, which is mentioned by Titus Livius in connection with the Second Punic