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The nutmeg or mace is an evergreen tree, 15 to 20 m (49 to 66 ft) in height and grows in Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Penang, Moluccas and in several other islands of the Indian Ocean. It has alternate leaves and dioecious flowers. Only female trees bear nuts; male plants are interdispersed in the groves only to ensure pollination. The ripe fruits are yellow-red with a fleshy pericarp; the red arillode is tightly wrapped around a woody hull containing the seed. The nut is removed and dried to produce nutmeg. The dried aril yields the spice mace, which possesses a flavor similar to that of nutmeg. Thus mace designates the dried arillodes of nutmeg. The ratio of nutmeg to mace is approximately 10:1. Nutmeg and mace yield different, but sometimes similar, products. The parts used are the nuts (free of the outer pulp) and arillodes (decolorized with lime).
The most commercially important qualities of nutmeg and mace are as follows: Banda nutmeg and Banda mace contain 8 and 13% essential oil, respectively; Java nutmeg and Java mace contain 6.5 and 11% essential oil, respectively; Siauw nutmeg and Siauw mace contain 6.5% and 10 to 12% essential oil, respectively. These qualities are further subdivided according to size—large, medium and small—for extraction and according to appearance—whole, worm eaten, etc.

Nutmeg seeds contain approximately 30% of a fixed oil called nutmeg butter. The oil contains myristic acid and glycerides of lauric, stearic, palmitic and tridecanoic acids. The aromatic oil contains d-camphene, diterpene, myristicin, elemicin and small amounts of other chemicals.

Taste characteristics at 50 ppm: woody, spicy, citrus, terpy, peppery and warm.

Moderately toxic byintraperitoneal route. Human systemic effects byingestion: central nervous system and cardiovascularsystem effects. When heated to decomposition it emitsacrid smoke and irritating fumes