Just inside the garden entrance is the evergreen nutmeg
tree whose fruit resemble plums. It was, we learn, native
to the Maluku Islands (also known as the Moluccas or the
Spice Islands), though Arabs soon monopolised the nutmeg
trade. Later, the seeds were smuggled out by the French and
cultivated in the islands of South Africa and Madagascar.
Today, the sign tells us, nutmeg is found in Sri Lanka, Sumatra
and the West Indies. The grated nut is widely used in sweet
and savoury dishes while the essential oil in its fruit is used in
medicine, perfumery and dentistry.