Nutmeg is one of the two spices the other being mace derived from several specie

s of tree in the genus Myristica.[1] The most important commercial species is My

ristica fragrans, an evergreen tree indigenous to the Banda Islands in the Moluc
cas (or Spice Islands) of Indonesia.
Nutmeg is the seed of the tree, roughly egg-shaped and about 20 to 30 mm (0.8 to
1.2 in) long and 15 to 18 mm (0.6 to 0.7 in) wide, and weighing between 5 and 1
0 g (0.2 and 0.4 oz) dried, while mace is the dried "lacy" reddish covering or a
ril of the seed. The first harvest of nutmeg trees takes place 79 years after pla
nting, and the trees reach full production after twenty years. Nutmeg is usually
used in powdered form. This is the only tropical fruit that is the source of tw
o different spices. Several other commercial products are also produced from the
trees, including essential oils, extracted oleoresins, and nutmeg butter (see b
elow).
Contents [hide]
1 Botany and cultivation
2 Culinary uses
3 Essential oils
4 Nutmeg butter
5 History
6 World production
7 Medical research
8 Psychoactivity and toxicity
8.1 Effects
8.2 History of use
8.3 Toxicity during pregnancy
9 See also
10 References
11 External links
Botany and cultivation[edit] This section does not cite any references or source
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Myristica fragrans tree in Goa, India
Nutmegs on a tree in Kerala, IndiaThe common or fragrant nutmeg, Myristica fragr
ans, is native to the Banda Islands of Indonesia. It is also grown on Penang Isl
and in Malaysia, the Caribbean, especially in Grenada, and in Kerala, a state in
southern India. Other species used to adulterate the spice include Papuan nutme
g M. argentea from New Guinea, and M. malabarica from India.
Nutmeg trees are dioecious plants which are propagated sexually and asexually, t
he latter being the standard. Sexual propagation by seedling yields 50% male see
dlings, which are unproductive. As there is no reliable method of determining pl
ant sex before flowering in the sixth to eighth year, and sexual propagation bea
rs inconsistent yields, grafting is the preferred method of propagation. Epicoty
l grafting, approach grafting and patch budding have proved successful, epicotyl
grafting being the most widely adopted standard. Air-layering, or marcotting, i
s an alternative, though not preferred, method, because of its low (35-40%) succ
ess rate.