Even at the high elevation of Newera Ellia, it is one of the most common woods, and it grows to the dimensions of a forest tree, the trunk being usually about three feet in circumference.

At Newera Ellia it loses much of its fine flavor, although it is still highly aromatic.
This tree flourishes in a white quartz sandy soil, and in its cultivated state is never allowed to exceed the dimensions of a bush, being pruned down close to the ground every year.

This system of close cutting induces the growth of a large number of shoots, in the same manner that withes are produced in England.
Every twelve months these shoots attain the length of six or seven feet, and the thickness of a man's finger.

In the interim, the only cultivation required is repeated cleaning.

The whole plantation is cut down at the proper period, and the sticks are then stripped of their bark by the peelers.