Allspice

The dried unripe berries of a small Caribbean tree, also known as allspice; Jamaica pepper; pimento; myrtle pepper; newspice.

English: allspice · Hungarian: szegfűbors · Arabic: فلفل إفرنجي · Hindi: गंधद्रव्य · Chinese: 多香果 ·

Overview

itemallspice
taxonPimenta dioica (L.) Merr.
familyMyrtaceae
regionsMexico, Central America, Caribbean
continentsNorthern America, Southern America
partunripe fruit; leaf; wood
cultivationJamaica; Mexico; Honduras
botanical_databasePOWO; GBIF; TROP; EOL

ALLSPICE is a culinary, medicinal, perfumery, and distillery spice, cultivated for its unripe fruit, leaf, and wood. It is yielded from the plant Pimenta dioica (L.) Merr., a tree in the Myrtaceae family, growing in seasonally dry tropical biome, with a native range of S. Mexico to C. America, Caribbean.1

It is used primarily in pickles, wines, desserts, liquors; spice for jerking meat; leaf oil for flavouring rum; wood to smoke and grill meat. Its aroma is described as pungent, mixed, spicy, with a heat index of 4.2

See more in ( Citation: , (). Plants of the world online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved from http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/ ; Citation: , (). List of herbs and spices. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/list-of-herbs-and-spices-2024392 ; Citation: , (). Culinary herbs and spices of the world. University of Chicago Press, joint publication with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. ; Citation: , (). Dangerous tastes: the story of spices. University of California Press. ; Citation: , (). The contemporary encyclopedia of herbs and spices: Seasonings for the global kitchen. J. Wiley. ; Citation: , (). The history and natural history of spices: the 5000-year search for flavour. The History Press. )

Pimenta dioica Pimenta dioica

Illustration of Pimenta dioica from Köhler’s Medizinal-Pflanzen ( Citation: (). Köhler’s Medizinal-Pflanzen in naturgetreuen Abbildungen mit kurz erläuterndem Texte: Atlas zur Pharmacopoea germanica, austriaca, belgica, danica, helvetica, hungarica, rossica, suecica, Neerlandica, British pharmacopoeia, zum Codex medicamentarius, sowie zur Pharmacopoeia of the United States of America. Franz Eugen Köhler. Retrieved from https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/623 ) II 174.

Distribution

Native and introduced habitats of Pimenta dioica3

Native areas:       Mexico Gulf, Mexico Southwest, Mexico Southeast, Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Bahamas, Cayman Is., Cuba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica

Introduced areas: Society Is., Caroline Is., Hawaii, Florida, El Salvador, Bermuda, Puerto Rico, Southwest Caribbean, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuela, Colombia


Allspice, also known as pimento and Jamaica pepper, refers to the dried unripe fruits of a tropical evergreen tree growing in the Caribbean: the Pimenta dioica. The dried berries are dark brown, hard to the touch, and 4–6 mm in diameter (thus larger than black pepper). Their signature crown is by a small ring of the calyx ( Citation: , (). Culinary herbs and spices of the world. University of Chicago Press, joint publication with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. ) .

Bibliography

Anderson (2023)
(). The history and natural history of spices: the 5000-year search for flavour. The History Press.
Dalby (2000)
(). Dangerous tastes: the story of spices. University of California Press.
Hill (2004)
(). The contemporary encyclopedia of herbs and spices: Seasonings for the global kitchen. J. Wiley.
Köhler (1887)
(). Köhler’s Medizinal-Pflanzen in naturgetreuen Abbildungen mit kurz erläuterndem Texte: Atlas zur Pharmacopoea germanica, austriaca, belgica, danica, helvetica, hungarica, rossica, suecica, Neerlandica, British pharmacopoeia, zum Codex medicamentarius, sowie zur Pharmacopoeia of the United States of America. Franz Eugen Köhler. Retrieved from https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/623
Petruzzello (2021)
(). List of herbs and spices. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/list-of-herbs-and-spices-2024392
POWO (2024)
(). Plants of the world online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved from http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/
Wyk (2014)
(). Culinary herbs and spices of the world. University of Chicago Press, joint publication with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.