104 FRUITS 



Description. Pimento berries are small, nearly globular, reddish- 

 brown fruits from 5 to 8 mm. in diameter. They have a rough surface, 

 and are crowned with the remains of the calyx in the form of a raised 

 ring, in which the four calyx-teeth are scarcely discernible ; in the 

 centre of this ring are the short remains of the style. The pericarp 

 is thin, woody, and brittle. At the base a small scar indicates the 

 point of attachment of the pedicel. 



Cut transversely, the fruit is seen to be two-celled, each cell con- 

 taining a single flattened or irregularly plano-convex, nearly black 

 seed, within which there is a dark coiled embryo but no endosperm. 



The thin pericarp contains a large number of oil-glands embedded 

 in it ; many are situated just below the outer epidermis, and elevate 

 it at intervals, thus producing the roughness of the pericarp ; these 

 glands are just visible in a transverse section when examined with a 

 lens. The seeds also contain oil-glands, but are much less aromatic 

 than the pericarp. 



The odour of pimento berries is agreeably aromatic ; it is especially 

 perceptible when the fruits are crushed. The taste is warm and 

 aromatic, resembling, but distinct from, that of cloves. 



The student should observe 



(a) The remains of the calyx crowning the fruit, 



(b) The two cells, each containing a single seed ; 



and should compare these fruits with 



(i) Cubebs, which are one-celled, dark greyish black or greyish 



brown in colour, and reticulated on the surface, 

 (ii) Black pepper, which is one-celled and one-seeded. 



Constituents. Pimento berries contain from 3 to 4-5 per cent, 

 of volatile oil (sp. gr. 1-040 to 1-055 ; O.R. = 2) consisting prin- 

 cipally of eugenol (about 65 per cent.), which is also the chief consti- 

 tuent of oil of cloves. They contain, further, a notable quantity of 

 tannin and yield from 2-5 to 5 per cent, of ash. 



Substitutes. Dark (nearly ripe) fruits have been coloured with 

 bole or brown ochre and passed off as genuine ; the fraud may be 

 detected by boiling them for a few moments with hydrochloric acid, 

 filtering, and testing with potassium ferrocyanide, when at most 

 a bluish green colour should be produced. 



The fruits of Pimenta acris, Wight (compare p. 57), may be dis- 

 tinguished by their five calyx teeth. Mexican allspice, the fruits 

 of Eugenia Tabasco, G. Don, are larger than the genuine, but neither 

 so dark nor so aromatic. Both are of rare occurrence. 



3. Pimento is used as a flavouring agent and as an aromatic 

 stimulant, resembling cloves in its action. 



