#749 Pimenta dioica Common Names: allspice, pimento, Jamaica pepper Family: Myrtaceae (myrtle Family) Get link to this Profile or click for Datasheet

This young allspice tree makes its home at the Fruit and Spice Park in Miami, Florida.

Location
Allspice is native to the West Indies, southern Mexico and Central America. It was "discovered" in Mexico by 16th century Spanish explorers who called it "pimienta", confusing it with black pepper. (Those traveling Spaniards were so intent on finding a new source of black pepper, that they also confused the New World chilis with that precious East Indian spice.) Nowadays allspice is grown commercially in Mexico, Honduras, Trinidad, Cuba, and especially in Jamaica, which practically has a monopoly. It is the only spice whose commercial production is entirely confined to the New World.

As you can see the flowers of allspice are small and not showy but the foliage is very handsome.

Usage
This is a slow growing, beautiful little tree and well worth growing in a container on a patio or, in tropical climates, in a shrub border. It may not flower and fruit outside its native range, but the big glossy aromatic leaves are an attraction.

Allspice, the spice, is a brown powder that smells like cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Features
The Myrtaceae is a large family of mostly aromatic trees and shrubs that includes eucalyptus, guava, clove tree, and melaleuca (Melaleuca quinquenervia). An oil distilled from the leaves of the closely related bay rum tree (Pimenta racemosa) is used to flavor bay rum.

Steve Christman 3/6/00; updated 1/24/04

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