African nutmeg seeds (Monodora myristica)
 
Common Name : Calabash nutmeg
 
African nutmeg is a deciduous tree with a huge lush crown; it can grow from 10 to 35 metres tall. The bole can be up to 2 metres in diameter. The tree is particularly valued for its aromatic seed, which is used as a condiment, medicinally, and also to make rosaries and necklaces. Usually harvested from the wild, the seeds are often sold in local markets in West Africa. The tree is also occasionally cultivated for its seeds on the Antilles and in Indonesia. A very ornamental tree with its attractive leaves and orchid-like conspicuous and scented flowers.
 
Range
Tropical Africa - Gambia to Sudan and Kenya, south to Angola and Tanzania.
 
Cultivation Details
Prefers a deep fertile loam soil and a sheltered position in full sun or light shade. Trees seldom set fruit when cultivated because they lack the beetle that normally pollinates them in the wild.
 
Edible Uses
The aromatic seeds are ground into a powder then used as a condiment in food, providing a flavour resembling that of nutmeg. The seeds are embedded in a white sweet-smelling pulp of a fruit that can be 20cm long by 15cm in diameter.
Medicinal The bark is used to treat haemorrhoids, stomach-ache and febrile pains. The bark is used in a vapour-bath as a defatigant and to relieve febrile lumbago. The juice expressed from the bark is used to paint over itch. Combined with the bark of Monodora tenuifolia a lotion is prepared for use in various eye-troubles.
The aromatic seeds are antiemetic, aperient, stimulant, stomachic and tonic. They are used as a stimulating addition to medicines. Ground to a powder they may be taken to treat digestive problems and relieve constipation. Applied externally in the form of a powder, or made up into an oily pomade, the seed can be applied to sores, especially those caused by the guinea-worm. It is also applied to rid the body of fleas and lice. The seeds are chewed up and applied to the forehead to relieve headaches and migraine.
 
Other Uses
The seeds smell like nutmeg and are used to make aromatic necklaces and rosaries. They are used to repel fleas and lice.
 
The seeds contain 5 - 9% of a colourless essential oil consisting largely of terpenes and with a pleasant taste and smell. It is of inferior value for perfuming soap.
The seeds contain about 35 - 36% of a reddish-brown fixed oil, of which 46.9% is linoleic acid, and 35% oleic acid. It is not of economic value.
The white or greyish wood is hard, somewhat tough does not split well and is easy to work. It is suitable for carpentry and turnery, and also used for making walking sticks.
 
Propagation
Seeds
Layers
Suckers.