The essential oil of saro comes from a plant endemic to Madagascar: Cinnamosma fragrans. Unique in the world, it has great medicinal properties. Its Malagasy name, Mandravasarotra, means that the plant “keeps evil away” or “annihilates evil”.

 

The plant belongs to the botanical family of Canellaceae and grows exclusively in Madagascar. It is therefore a plant said to be endemic to this country which is an exceptional terroir for more than 10,000 plants that cannot be found anywhere else.

This evergreen and very aromatic tree has been described as generally reaching 5m tall but research has confirmed the presence of large trees reaching over 15m tall.

The leaves are shiny, small in size around 10cm by 2cm with a short petiole. The flowers are hermaphroditic and regular. The fruits are berries, smooth, very variable in shape and size, with 1 to 15 seeds per fruit.

All parts of this plant are used in traditional Malagasy medicine: the leaves, bark, fruit and root.

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