CHAPTER IV 
CLOVES 
The cloves of commerce are the unopened flower-buds 
of the clove tree, Eugenia caryophyllata, Thunb. 
This is a small tree belonging to the large order 
Myrtaceae, which contains a very great number of 
species of the genus Eugenia, natives of tropical and 
subtropical regions all over the world. Aromatic as 
many of the plants of this order are, none are as highly 
so as this species, and none are as valuable in commerce. 
The clove tree is usually of no great size, generally 
about 12 to 20 ft. tall, but in some places they attain 
a height of 40 ft. The stem is usually forked, and has 
often two or three erect main branches. The smaller 
branches are usually sub-erect, and do not spread widely, 
so that the tree is bushy and more or less cone-shaped. 
The twigs are slender and rather brittle, with grey 
bark. The bark of the trunk is also grey, and somewhat 
smooth. The leaves are lanceolate-acute at both ends, 
or sub-acute at the tip, and narrowed at the base into 
a slender leaf stalk. Above, they are dark shining 
green ; below, paler, thinly coriaceous. The nerves are 
numerous, but not verj^ conspicuous. The blade of the 
leaf is 3 to 5 in. long and from 1 to 1|- in. wide. The 
leaves of trees grown in shade are thinner, less stiff, 
and larger than those grown in full sun. The young 
leaves when put forth are greenish yellow, with a 
pinkish tint, and as they develop gradually darken. 
The leaves are in pairs. The petiole is slender, J to 
