Picture 3. Syzygium aromaticum
(Haris, 2013)
Classification
Kingdom : Plantae
Divisi : Magnoliophyta
Class : Magnoliopsida
Order : Myrtales
Family : Myrtaceae
Genus : Syzygium R.Br. ex Gaertn.
Species :
Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merr. &
L.M.Perry
Other
Scientific Names
·
Caryophyllus
aromaticus L. (1753)
·
Eugenia
aromatica (L.) Baill., nom. illeg.
·
Eugenia
caryophyllata Thunb.
·
Eugenia
caryophyllus (Spreng.) Bullock & S. G. Harrison
Description
A bushy, evergreen tree with a
medium-sized crown, growing 8-20 metres tall. Several parts of the tree are
aromatic, including the leaves and bark, but it is most valued for the aromatic
flower buds, which are usually harvested by hand. Leaves simple, bright green and glossy.
The lower surface is covered in aromatic oil glands. Elliptical leaves with
petioles (leaf stalks) grow up to 13cm long in opposite pairs along numerous
short branches. Flowers developing in small clusters.
Flower buds are initially pale with a glossy, fleshy appearance, turning green
and then bright red as they mature. They consist of a long, narrow ovary,
approximately 1.5-2.0 cm in length, with four small triangular sepals
projecting outwards at one end. The sepals surround a small ball of four
overlapping petals that protect the developing flower parts inside. It is in
this form that the clove is harvested and dried for use as a spice. If the flower is allowed to mature, the
petals fall off under pressure from numerous white-yellow stamens (male parts),
which are then revealed. These showy stamens surround a single narrow stigma
(female part). The fruit matures approximately nine
months after flowering. The long red ovary of the flower gradually turns a
reddish-purple and swells to the size of an olive, but is more oblong in shape
with the sepals covering where the flower once was. The fruit contains one, or
rarely two, seeds and is often referred to as the 'mother of cloves'.
Cultivated clove trees are rarely allowed to reach fruiting stage (Kew).
Spot
Character
Long calyx with unopened petals.
Distribution
Southeast Asia
Benefit
Medicinal and aromatic plant
Location
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