Recommended for your garden in the south of Spain: Canella winterana

Canella winterana, or wild cinnamon, is native to Puerto Rico and Florida where it thrives in the warm, humid climate. It is an evergreen small tree or upright shrub which is drought and salt resistant once established. Canella is a member of the Canellacea family (not the Cinnamomum family to which culinary cinnamon belongs).

Although slow growing, it is a popular plant for providing shade as it has dense foliage and is sometimes used for screening too. The straight trunk can grow up to 15 meters high in ideal climates but around half that is more usual.

The oval, bright-green, shiny leaves create a great contrast to the scarlet berries that ripen in autumn. The flowers are not especially showy as they are quite small but are bright red with yellow anthers. The flowers start life as all females but 24 hours after opening they change to males, ensuring efficient cross pollination.

The whole plant is aromatic, smelling of cloves and cinnamon, but it is rarely used to flavour foods as parts of the plant, in particular the bark, are toxic. The leaves and inner bark were once used as a cinnamon alternative but are very bitter. The flowers and leaves can be used to make a very sweet smelling pot-pourri.

Wild cinnamon needs a free-draining, moist soil, preferably acidic although it will adapt to other types. It likes humidity and needs a bright location where it will get direct sunlight.

Although it does not usually need pruning, lower growth can be removed to encourage a tree shape.

Propagation is best from seed and adding a liquid fertiliser will speed up growth in spring.

Although it is drought resistant for short periods once it is established, it will thrive with regular watering during the hottest months.