All Spice

Allspice takes its name from its aroma. The dried berries and leaves smell like a combination of spices, especially cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg. The evergreen tree that produces the allspice berries is indigenous to the rainforests of Central America.

A member of the Myrtle family, growing as an attractive tree of dense foliage reaching 12m in tropical conditions. It produces small flowers followed by the hard woody reddish/brown berries.

While male and female plants are required for pollination to set fruit, the tree is often grown for ornamental purposes and leaf harvest. Female trees are known to occasionally produce some male flowers, thereby setting fruit.Shade and regular water is required for young plants. Even though flowers contain both types of reproductive organs, most trees produce flowers with only one set of functional reproductive organs.