clove aka '丁香'

Here one more about spice - clove which is also one of the species in my the day before yesterday Indian style spiced basmati rice lunch.
Clove is a small evergreen tree ( Syzygium aromaticum or Eugenia caryophyllata ) of the family Myrtaceae (myrtle family) and for its unopened flower bud. It is an important spice. The buds, whose folded petals are gathered by hand, dried, and marketed either whole or ground for culinary purposes. Clove is often considered medicinal and antiseptic. The spicy fragrance of cloves was used by the Chinese and by the Romans, but the first instance of finding the tree growing wild was recorded by the Portuguese when they discovered the Spice Islands. The Portuguese and then the Dutch held the clove trade in monopoly, eliminating the tree from all but a single island, until the late 18th century. Today cloves are products also of other tropical areas. (quoted from The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | 2008 |)