Cloves

Cloves are the aromatic sundried flowers of a tree native to the Maluka Islands in South East Asia. People around the world have prized them for their fragrant and medicinal properties for centuries, and cloves were an important commodity in the spice trade. Today, the principle region of clove production is the island of Zanzibar off the Tanzanian coastline.

The clove tree is evergreen and may grow up to 20 meters tall. The flowers develop an intense red colour on maturity, at which point that they are collected for drying.

Species information

Distribution: South East Asia; cultivated elsewhere in the tropics.

Habitat: Humid, tropical forest.

Form: Tree

Scientific name: Syzgium aromaticum (Myrtaceae)

Cloves have a long established history in Britain as a medicinal preparation. During the middle ages poultices made from cloves were applied to lesions caused by bubonic plague.

Clove oil is rich in the fragrant compound eugenol, and is a useful remedy for toothache. Eugenol is similar in structure to the neurotransmitter dopamine and acts as a mild anaesthetic whilst simultaneously reducing infection by virtue of its antibacterial properties. A paste of clove oil and zinc has been used for many years as a dental packing material. The characteristic smell of eugenol has been referred to as dentists’ perfume for this reason.