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
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