Taxon: Litsea cubeba (Lour.) Pers.

Summary

Genus:

Litsea

Family:

Lauraceae

Nomen number:

400267

Place of publication:

Syn. pl. 2(1):4. 1806

Verified:

10/05/2009 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

1 (0 active, 0 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Basionym
Laurus cubeba Lour.

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Benzoin citriodorum Siebold & Zucc.
Lindera citriodora (Siebold & Zucc.) Hemsl.

No images

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
Ara, H. et al. 2007. An annotated checklist of Lauraceae in Bangladesh. Bangladesh J. Pl. Taxon. 14:155.
Backer, C. A. & R. C. Bakhuizen van den Brink, Jr. 1963-1968. Flora of Java.
Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1984. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae. 31:271.
Craker, L. E. & J. E. Simon, eds. 1986-1987. Herbs, spices, and medicinal plants, 2 vols.
Facciola, S. 1990. Cornucopia, a source book of edible plants Kampong Publications.
Grierson, A. J. C. & D. J. Long. 1984-. Flora of Bhutan including a record of plants from Sikkim.
Hara, H. et al. 1978-1982. An enumeration of the flowering plants of Nepal.
Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
Kunkel, G. 1984. Plants for human consumption
McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Oyen, L. P. A. & Nguyen Xuan Dung, eds. 1999. Essential-oil plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 19:99, 123-126.
Personal Care Products Council. International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient
Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).

Common names

Language	Name	seq	Citation
English	litsea	1	McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
English	mountain-pepper	1	Facciola, S. 1990. Cornucopia, a source book of edible plants Kampong Publications.
English	pheasant-pepper	1	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Indonesian	sambal	2	Craker, L. E. & J. E. Simon, eds. 1986-1987. Herbs, spices, and medicinal plants, 2 vols.
Japanese Rōmaji	ao-moji	2	Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
Swedish	kubeba-lager	2	Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
Transcribed Chinese	shan ji jiao	2	Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Reference
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Anhui Sheng	Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Fujian Sheng	Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Guangdong Sheng	Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Guangxi Zhuangzu Zizhiqu	Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Guizhou Sheng	Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Hainan Sheng	Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Hubei Sheng	Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Hunan Sheng	Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Jiangsu Sheng	Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Jiangxi Sheng	Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Sichuan Sheng	Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Xizang Zizhiqu	Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Yunnan Sheng	Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Zhejiang Sheng	Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Japan	Honshu	Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Japan	Kyushu	Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Japan	Ryukyu Islands	Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Taiwan		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Bangladesh		Ara, H. et al. 2007. An annotated checklist of Lauraceae in Bangladesh. Bangladesh J. Pl. Taxon. 14:155.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Bhutan		Grierson, A. J. C. & D. J. Long. 1984-. Flora of Bhutan including a record of plants from Sikkim.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Sikkim	Grierson, A. J. C. & D. J. Long. 1984-. Flora of Bhutan including a record of plants from Sikkim.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Nepal		Hara, H. et al. 1978-1982. An enumeration of the flowering plants of Nepal.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Cambodia		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Laos		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Myanmar		Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Thailand		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Vietnam		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Indonesia	Jawa	Oyen, L. P. A. & Nguyen Xuan Dung, eds. 1999. Essential-oil plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 19:99, 123-126.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Indonesia	Kalimantan	Oyen, L. P. A. & Nguyen Xuan Dung, eds. 1999. Essential-oil plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 19:99, 123-126.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Indonesia	Sumatera	Oyen, L. P. A. & Nguyen Xuan Dung, eds. 1999. Essential-oil plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 19:99, 123-126.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Malaysia		Oyen, L. P. A. & Nguyen Xuan Dung, eds. 1999. Essential-oil plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 19:99, 123-126.
2	Cultivated	Asia-Temperate	China	China		Oyen, L. P. A. & Nguyen Xuan Dung, eds. 1999. Essential-oil plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 19:99, 123-126.
2	Cultivated	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Japan		Oyen, L. P. A. & Nguyen Xuan Dung, eds. 1999. Essential-oil plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 19:99, 123-126.
2	Cultivated	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Taiwan		Oyen, L. P. A. & Nguyen Xuan Dung, eds. 1999. Essential-oil plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 19:99, 123-126.

Native
Asia-Temperate

CHINA: China [Anhui Sheng, Fujian Sheng, Guangdong Sheng, Guangxi Zhuangzu Zizhiqu, Guizhou Sheng, Hainan Sheng, Hubei Sheng, Hunan Sheng, Jiangsu Sheng, Jiangxi Sheng, Sichuan Sheng, Xizang Zizhiqu, Yunnan Sheng, Zhejiang Sheng]
EASTERN ASIA: Japan [Honshu, Kyushu, Ryukyu Islands], Taiwan

Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India [Sikkim], Nepal
INDO-CHINA: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam
MALESIA: Indonesia [Jawa, Kalimantan, Sumatera], Malaysia

Cultivated
Asia-Temperate

CHINA: China
EASTERN ASIA: Japan, Taiwan

Reference(s)

Ara, H. et al. 2007. An annotated checklist of Lauraceae in Bangladesh. Bangladesh J. Pl. Taxon. 14:155.
Grierson, A. J. C. & D. J. Long. 1984-. Flora of Bhutan including a record of plants from Sikkim.
Hara, H. et al. 1978-1982. An enumeration of the flowering plants of Nepal.
Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
Oyen, L. P. A. & Nguyen Xuan Dung, eds. 1999. Essential-oil plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 19:99, 123-126.
Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Food additives	flavoring		Facciola, S. 1990. Cornucopia, a source book of edible plants Kampong Publications.
Food additives	flavoring		Oyen, L. P. A. & Nguyen Xuan Dung, eds. 1999. Essential-oil plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 19:99, 123-126.
Materials	essential oils		Craker, L. E. & J. E. Simon, eds. 1986-1987. Herbs, spices, and medicinal plants, 2 vols.
Materials	essential oils	source of citral	Oyen, L. P. A. & Nguyen Xuan Dung, eds. 1999. Essential-oil plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 19:99, 123-126.
Materials	wood		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
Medicines	folklore		Oyen, L. P. A. & Nguyen Xuan Dung, eds. 1999. Essential-oil plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 19:99, 123-126.
Medicines	folklore		McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=400267. Accessed 12 May 2026.