Camphor

According to classical translations of the Qur’ān, kāfūr is referred to as a flavour or taste: ‘Lo! The righteous shall drink of a cup whereof the mixture is that of kāfūr’. The name kāfūr for camphor may have been spread from Indonesia to Persia by Arab-speaking traders at the time of the ancient civilisations.

Native to China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea, camphor Cinnamomum camphora is easily identified by the pungent odour it produces from crushed leaves and roots. It was once considered one of the most important incenses in perfumery and embalming.

The 4 mm flowers need to be viewed under the microscope to see the details and I have painted them x 25 times up to see the hairy surface of the inside surface of the tepals. I use the usual combination of lemon yellow, permanent rose and French ultramarine blue to create the cool or warm greys for the white flowers and white hairs.

Painted from specimens found in Eastwoodhill Arboretum and Waiheke Island, New Zealand.

Grows at Kew in the Temperate House.

Completed painting size: 54 x 72 cm
Main picture and berries x 2, detail of flowers x 25
Watercolour on paper