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Nutmeg – a valuable spice

The nutmeg tree, Myristica fragrans, is a large evergreen tree native to Southeast Asia. Until the late 18th century, it only grew in one place in the world: a small group of islands in the Banda Sea, part of the Moluccas – or Spice Islands – in what is now eastern Indonesia.

The tree is distinctive in that it produces two separate spices: nutmeg from the seed and mace from the aril, a bright red, lacy covering of the seed. Both spices were highly prized in medieval Europe, where they were used as flavourings, medicinal ingredients, and preservatives.

The enormous profits that could be made from nutmeg attracted first the Portuguese, then the Dutch, and later the British. The competition for control of the nutmeg trade led to centuries of conflict in the region.