240 TROPICAL AGRICULTURE 



grains of Paradise and Ravensara nuts, which come from 

 Africa. 



ALLSPICE 



Allspice, also commonly called pimento (Pimenta officinalis) , 

 is a tree native to Jamaica and other West Indies and Cen- 

 tral America. It has sometimes been referred to as Eugenia 

 pimenta. The tree attains a height of 15 to 40 feet and bears 

 opposite shiny leaves. The leaves contain an essential oil 

 which is used like that of Pimenta acrls in the preparation of 

 bay rum. The flowers of the allspice tree are small and white 

 and the tree bears a purple one-seeded fruit about the size of 

 a pea. In ripening the fruit loses much of its aroma. It is 

 therefore picked before fully ripe. The fruit clusters are 

 cut from the tree with a crook or curved knife at the end of 

 a bamboo pole, or if more convenient the branches are pulled 

 down with a curved stick and the fruit clusters clipped off. 

 The fruit is dried in the sun for 3 to 12 days or in a fruit 

 evaporator, after which the material is ready for market. 

 Allspice is propagated by seed, the planting distance being 

 about 20 by 20 feet. The bush begins to bear at about 8 

 years of age and reaches full bearing at 15 years. The aver- 

 age yield of mature trees is about 75 pounds of dried fruit 

 per tree per year. At present the world's supply of allspice 

 comes chiefly from Jamaica, which country exports about 

 11,000,000 pounds annually. An oil is extracted from the 

 pimento fruit and is sold under the name pimento oil. This 

 matter is further discussed under oils. The commercial all- 

 spice is not closely related to other plants which sometimes 

 bear the name allspice with certain qualifying adjectives. 

 Carolina allspice, for example, or sweet-scented shrub, bears 

 the botanical name Calycanthus fioridus and the wild allspice 

 of the Northern States is Lindera benzoin. 



