The Making of a Medicinal Plant: Ravintsara (Cinnamomum camphora) in Madagascar, from Colonial Introduction to Export Remedy

Ravintsara (Cinnamomum camphora ct. 1,8-cineole) holds a central place in traditional Malagasy medicine, where it is widely considered an endemic medicinal plant. However, C. camphora was introduced to Madagascar in the nineteenth century as part of colonial botanical and industrial projects for camphor extraction. This article examines how and why an introduced species was integrated into Malagasy therapeutic practice and subsequently transformed into an essential oil export commodity over the past century and a half. Drawing on archival research and oral histories, the article traces Cinnamomum camphora from its introduction as a camphor-producing tree to its appropriation for therapeutic purposes under the name “ravintsara” and subsequently to its redefinition as a cineole-rich essential oil in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The analysis shows how chemical classification and standardization by Malagasy research institutions, building on earlier processes of local appropriation, stabilized ravintsara not as a source of camphor but as a therapeutic substance with both local use and export value. Placing the importance of ravintsara during the Covid-19 pandemic within this longer trajectory shows how the use and value of medicinal plants emerged through the historical interplay of Malagasy therapeutic practice and global trade.