LFC Bengaluru | November 2025
Reena: Guess what flower this is? Clue: Turns into a very popular spice!
Parvathi: Clove?
Reena: Good guess, but not clove!
Tharana: Nutmeg!
Nutmeg up close: the tree’s tender blossoms, and the fruit that splits to reveal the seed along with its striking red mace. Photos by Reena and Renjith.
Renjith: Turns into something beautiful like this!
Reena: Yes!! Mace and the nutmeg seed. And the flowers are SO fragrant! Was reading about the male and female flower funds and went into a rabbithole trying to understand this. Still confused! More info from the Season Watch group members—”Nutmeg belongs to the Myristica genus and there are swamp forests with native species of the same genus in sections of the Western Ghats. Although Myristica or nutmeg has been an introduced species in India. And ‘Myristica’ itself refers to the fragrance, but sounds mysterious and magical to me, like their incredible stilt roots in the swamp forests. Freshwater crabs disperse some of these seeds in swamp forests”.
“Spotted a nutmeg tree in my neighbourhood.” Photos by Reena.
Jaya: We make a chutney with the white fleshy part. Just coconut, the white fleshy part, green chilli, and a tiny ginger piece along with salt. It’s yummy with plain rice.
Reena: Wow! What’s the flavour like?
Jaya: A bit on the astringent side. We used to be given this in our childhood for any stomach issues.
Reena: A bit like the Elephant Apple flavour maybe. Which part of the country? Kerala? Goan cuisine?
Jaya: Kerala.
Archana: You are making me drool now. One of my friends made vine and pickle too.
Reena: From another friend: “We also make wine from the flesh part.
Roasted seed is powdered and consumed with honey as a herbal remedy for diarrhoea”
Tanya: Oh wow!
Rutuja: Which part of the city is this? I have never seen the tree, but I want to, especially after reading about its history in ‘The Nutmeg’s Curse’
Explore: Read more on what the founders at Nilgiri Marten Spices, one of our partner producers, have to say about premium quality spices and their ethical sourcing, here.