About Litsea cubeba (Lour.) Pers.
Litsea cubeba (Lour.) Pers. is an evergreen species in the laurel family Lauraceae, growing as a shrub or tree that reaches 5–12 meters in height. It has several common names, including aromatic litsea and may chang. In Mandarin Chinese, it is known as shānhújiāo (mountain pepper), mùjiāngzǐ, and dòuchǐjiāng; it is called maqaw by the Atayal people of Taiwan. This plant produces fruit that is processed to extract a lemony essential oil. Essential oil can also be extracted from its leaves, but leaf-extracted oil is considered lower in quality. Its timber is sometimes used to make furniture and crafts, and various parts of the plant are used in medicine. It is native to Assam, Bangladesh, Borneo, Cambodia, South-Central China, Southeast China, East Himalaya, Hainan, Japan, Java, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nansei-shoto, Nepal, Sumatera, Taiwan, Thailand, Tibet, and Vietnam.
