Clove

:This article is about spice; the word clove is also used to describe a segment of a head of garlic, a clove cigarette or kretek is a cigarette that has been flavored with clove oil, and a clove hitch is a useful kind of knot.

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Cloves are the aromatic dried flower buds of a tree (Syzygium aromaticum, sometimes included in the genus Eugenia) in the family Myrtaceae. It is native to Indonesia and used as a spice in virtually all the world's cuisine. The name derives from French clou, a nail, as the buds vaguely resemble small irregular nails in shape. Cloves are harvested primarily in Indonesia and Madagascar; it is also grown in Zanzibar, India, Sri Lanka, and the "Spice Islands" (Moluccas, Indonesia known as the Bandas Islands).

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The clove tree is an evergreen which grows to a height ranging from 10-20 m, having large oval leaves and crimson flowers in numerous groups of terminal clusters. The flower buds are at first of a pale color and gradually become green, after which they develop into a bright red, when they are ready for collecting. Cloves are harvested when 1.5-2 cm long, and consist of a long calyx, terminating in four spreading sepals, and four unopened petals which form a small ball in the centre.

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Garlic: Garlic (Allium sativum) is a bulbous perennial food plant of the family Alliaceae. The word comes to us from Old English g?rl?ac, meaning "spear leek"....

Kretek: Kreteks are Indonesian cigarettes made with a complex blend of tobacco, cloves and a flavoring 'sauce'. They are often called clove cigarettes. It is believed that the name kretek comes from the crackling sound the cloves make when they are burned....

Clove hitch: The clove hitch is a type of knot. It is one of a number of knots known as binding knots. It has been in use since ancient times....