CLOVE

4th January 2024

Photo Credit: Michael VIARD (Getty Images), CANVA

ARMADO: the armnipotent Mars, of lances the almighty, gave Hector a gift.

DUMAINE: A gilt nutmeg

BEROWNE: A lemon.

LONGAVILLE: Stuck with cloves.

DUMAINE: No, cloven.

ARMADO: Peace!

ARMADO, DUMAINE, BEROWNE, LONGAVILLE: Loves Labours Lost, Act 5, Scene 2

CLOVE (Syzygium aromaticum)

It is surprising that Cloves only make one appearance in Shakespeare given that they were included in many recipes of the period. They were valued and valuable spices, medicines and used for their scent.

John Gerard has lots to say about the wonders of the Clove plant. He tells us that the ancient Greeks did not know the plant and that it grows in the Moluccas Islands. He adds a long list of the power of Clove based medicines including that: “the Portugall women that dwell in the East Indies, draw from the cloves when they be yet green a certain liquor by distillation, of a most fragrant smell, which comforteth the heart, and is of all cordials the most effectual.” He also claims that Cloves are used for salves for wounds, for eye problems and meats, medicines, and powders, as well as “the weight of four drams of the powder of cloves taken in milk procureth the act of generation.”

Cloves are the dried, unopened flower buds of the Clove Tree, which is native to the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. They are grown in other parts of Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. The flower buds are hand picked and dried in the sun.

More Information

John Gerard, 1597 (first edition), The Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes (1636 edition accessed via Archive.org)

Kew: Christmas spice makes all things nice

Kew Plants of the World Online: Clove Tree