How to Grow and Care for Litsea

Litsea cubeba, the aromatic litsea or may chang, is an evergreen tree or shrub 5–12 meters high in the family Lauraceae. It is native to China, Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia. It is called "mountain pepper" (山胡椒) in Mandarin and maqaw (馬告) by the Atayal aborigines in Taiwan. It produces a fruit which is processed for its lemony essential oil. The oil can also be extracted from the leaf, but this is considered to be lower in quality. The timber is sometimes used for making furniture and crafts. Plant parts are also used in medicine.

Pond spice has a native range that includes India, Southeast Asia, Australia, and many Pacific islands. Oils from pond spice are used to make soap, the wood is good for furniture, and the bark is powdered and then pressed into incense sticks. The leaves are also occasionally fed to cows.

Litsea rotundifolia var. oblongifolia(Litsea rotundifolia var. oblongifolia) has fragrant leaves and fruits, which have been used to produce aromatic oil. The plant can be found growing in thickets and sparse forests on mountainsides. As indicated by the word oblongifolia included in the plant's name, this variety has more oblong leaves.