198 SPICES 



HAP. 



entire, dark -green above, paler and gland-dotted beneath, 

 with a prominent mid-rib 4 to 6 in. long. They are 

 very aromatic when fresh, abounding in essential oil. 

 The flowers are in trichotomous panicles on the ends of 

 the branches. They are very small, white, and fragrant. 

 The calyx has four rounded lobes. The petals are^ four, 

 rounded and greenish white. The stamens are very 

 numerous, longer than the petals, and white. The fruit 

 is a black or purple one-seeded drupe, about the size of 

 a pea, from ^ to r ^ in. through. When ripe it has a 

 sweet pulp, but then loses much of its aromatic property, 

 and thus is gathered before fully mature. 



DISTRIBUTION 



Allspice is a native of the West Indies, occurring 

 on calcareous soil near the coast on the islands of Cuba, 

 Hayti, Trinidad, Domingo, and more or less in all the 

 islands of the Caribbean Sea, but it is most abundant in 

 Jamaica, which island produces the greater part of the 

 commercial spice. The tree occurs also in Mexico, Costa 

 Eica, and Venezuela. The Mexican spice is, however, 

 inferior, larger, but less aromatic. It is believed to be 

 the produce of a distinct variety of Pimento, officinalis, 

 and is known as Pimienta de Tabasco. 



It does not appear that the tree has been success- 

 fully cultivated in any part of the world, except where 

 it is indigenous, though attempts seem to have been 

 made in most of the tropical colonies. In the Botanic 

 Gardens in Singapore there were a few trees of this plant 

 for many years, and though they flowered regularly 

 they never produced any fruit. Nor does it seem to 

 have done any better in Ceylon, where it is said to have 

 been introduced as early as 1824. 



Bernays, in Cultural Industries for Queensland, 

 mentions a fruiting tree in the Brisbane Botanic 

 Gardens about 15 ft. tall and fifteen years old, but "it 

 does not appear that there was any extension of the 

 cultivation. 



