The camphor tree in Dr Stone S1E1

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At the moment of the petrification, Taiju throws Yuzuriha toward a large, ancient camphor tree. 3,700 years later, the tree is still standing and Yuzuriha’s statue is intact, with no erosion or damage. The choice of species is no accident on the author’s part: in Japan, the kusunoki camphor trees found at Shinto shrines are sacred, sometimes millennia-old, and traditionally associated with protection.

The subject in depth

The camphor tree (Cinnamomum camphora) is an evergreen tree in the laurel family, native to Japan, Taiwan, southern China, and Vietnam. It can reach 30 meters in height and live more than 1,000 years: several sacred Japanese camphor trees (at Atami, Takeo, Kayashima) are dated between 1,500 and 3,000 years old ^[Wikipedia] .

Its chemical hallmark: the wood and leaves typically contain 4 to 5% camphor, a bicyclic terpene with the formula C₁₀H₁₆O. This white crystalline molecule gives off a distinctive fresh smell. Camphor has been extracted since antiquity in Asia through steam distillation of wood shavings ^[Wikipedia] .

Three properties explain the camphor tree’s aura in Asian material culture. First, camphor is a natural repellent against wood-boring insects (termites, woodworms) and certain wood-decaying fungi: the wood resists decay better than average timber. Second, it is a mild contact antiseptic, used in traditional Chinese and Japanese medicine for skin conditions. Third, it is a cardiac and respiratory stimulant at controlled doses (as camphorated oil in Western pharmacopeia until the 20th century).

Camphor also had an industrial career. It is the historical plasticizer of celluloid (the first commercial synthetic plastic, 1869): without camphor, there would have been no photographic film, no early cinema, no original ping-pong balls. World camphor production, long dominated by Taiwan, shifted toward chemical synthesis in the mid-20th century.

The fact-checker’s eye

Going further

• Distillation: the extraction technique used to pull camphor from wood shavings
• Discipline: Chemistry: all chemistry entries on the site

Glossary

Terpene ↗

Family of organic molecules produced by plants, built from isoprene units. Camphor is a bicyclic monoterpene (C₁₀H₁₆O), responsible for the camphor tree's characteristic smell.

Steam distillation ↗

A variant of distillation used to extract heat-sensitive compounds from plant matter. Steam passes through wood shavings, carries off the camphor, then condenses.

Sources

1. Cinnamomum camphora, French Wikipedia ^[Wikipedia]
2. Camphor, French Wikipedia ^[Wikipedia]