Bi Cheng Qie

Litsea cubeba, known as may chang or mountain pepper, is a small deciduous to semi-evergreen aromatic tree of the Lauraceae family native to southern China and across much of subtropical Southeast Asia. The tree typically grows five to ten meters tall with a slender trunk, greyish-brown smooth bark, and a thinly spreading crown; all parts of the plant are strongly fragrant of lemon when crushed. Leaves are alternate, narrowly lanceolate to oblong, eight to twelve centimeters long, with entire margins, a pointed apex, and a pleasantly citrus-scented essential oil. Small pale-yellow flowers appear in clusters on bare branches in early spring before the new leaves, the plant being dioecious. Female trees produce abundant small pepper-like spherical drupes about five millimeters across, ripening through green to glossy black, with a strong lemony aroma.