Syzygium aromaticum Seeds | Cloves
LATIN NAME: Syzygium aromaticum
COMMON NAME: Clove
Plant Profile
Clove (Syzygium aromaticum) is a tree. Few spices carry story of old spice trade like the clove. Handsome, evergreen, conical tree carries glossy, oval leaves, and small, fragrant, pinkish-white flowers open in clusters through the season. Famous cloves are dried, unopened flower buds, gathered while they are still green and pink and dried to fine, dark, aromatic nails of spice trade. Taken as a whole, it is a plant that repays a little attention many times over.
Science & Biotechnology
As part of the Syzygium group, Syzygium aromaticum contributes to research on plant classification and adaptation, while nurseries and gardeners continue to trial it for cultivation. Research record on clove runs deep, and tree has been studied for a very long time for aromatic buds that made it famous. For researchers, plants like this one offer practical material for propagation studies and selection work.
Uses & Benefits
Gardeners value Clove for its ornamental character, and the plant also fits naturally into herb, vegetable and cutting gardens. Clove does a lot of work in kitchen and beyond. Dried buds are one of great spices of world, used in curries, baked goods, mulled drinks and pickles of warm regions, and aromatic oil has a long record of use in dental and household practice. Handsome, evergreen tree is also a fine, generous shade tree of warm, humid garden, and fragrant flowers draw in bees of the season. Given the right start, it carries on with minimal intervention.
The clove tree’s dried buds are a world spice and a dental folk remedy, their eugenol still used in dentistry; rose apple and jambu fruits are tropical delicacies, and Syzygium cumini seed is a major Ayurvedic blood-sugar herb.
Growing from Seed
Starting Clove from seed is simple and satisfying. Sow the seeds evenly over the surface and cover lightly in a loose, well-drained seed compost, keep the sowing evenly moist, and give the pot or tray bright light. Move strong seedlings into individual pots, keep them in good light, and set them out when the weather and their size agree.
Our Take
Its long record of traditional use, described above, gives the plant a story beyond ornament. Once established, Clove largely looks after itself. Careful watering early on is rewarded by toughness at maturity.
Related Reading
Gardeners who grow Clove often pair it with these related subjects: