Caryophyllus Aromaticus

This myrtaceous plant produces the

well-known spice called cloves. It forms a beautiful evergreen,

rising from 20 to 30 feet in height. The cloves of commerce are

the unexpanded flower-buds; they are collected by beating the tree

with rods, when the buds, from the jointed character of their

stalks, readily fall, and are received on sheets spread on

purpose; they are then dried in the sun. All parts of the plant

are aromatic, from the presence of a volatile oil. The oil is

sometimes used in toothache and as a carminative in medicine.