Ill 
NUTMEGS AND MACE 
97 
nature. It is a pendulous, fleshy drupe rather variable 
in form, those of some trees being globular, while 
other trees have oval or pear-shaped fruits. They are 
smooth and of a pale orange-yellow colour, with a 
groove running down one side. They are somewhat 
variable in size, large ones being about 2-|- in. in length. 
When quite ripe, the fleshy husk opens by splitting 
from the top, along the groove, into two halves, nearly 
to the base. The husk or pericarp is of a somewhat 
firm texture and -J- in. thick, rather acid in taste, with 
an aromatic flavour of nutmeg. Within the husk is the 
seed, the nutmeg of commerce, enclosed in a deep brown 
shining seedcoat, the testa, and over this lies a splendid 
H 
