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Monodora myristica, the calabash nutmeg or African nutmeg, [1] is a tropical tree of the family Annonaceae or custard apple family of flowering plants. It is native to tropical Africa from Sierra Leone in the west to Tanzania. [1] [3] In former times, its seeds were widely sold as an inexpensive nutmeg substitute.
Myristica insipida is a small, single-stemmed tree usually growing up to 16 m (52 ft) in height but it may reach 25 m (82 ft) in certain conditions. [5] The trunk is cylindrical and straight, in mature trees it may exceed 30 cm (12 in) DBH. The bark is dark brown with numerous fine vertical fissures.
The single seed has ruminate endosperm and is uniform in color or rarely with black blotches (Compsoneura). Many species within the family exhibit highly complex phytochemistry with numerous compounds having been described from the leaves, bark, fruits, arils, and seeds of many species.
Nutmeg is the spice made by grinding the seed of the fragrant nutmeg tree (Myristica fragrans) into powder.The spice has a distinctive pungent fragrance and a warm, slightly sweet taste; it is used to flavor many kinds of baked goods, confections, puddings, potatoes, meats, sausages, sauces, vegetables, and such beverages as eggnog.
The plant is toxic enough to cause human and animal fatalities if ingested. Every part of the plant is poisonous, especially the tuberous rhizomes. As with other members of the Colchicaceae, this plant contains high levels of colchicine, a toxic alkaloid. It also contains the alkaloid gloriocine.
A marine heat wave has killed approximately half of Alaska’s common murre population, marking the largest recorded die-off of a single species in modern history, research has found.
A recent Washington Post analysis of government data between 2001 and 2013 found that the main culprits are flying insects such as bees, wasps, and hornets which kill an average of 58 people annually.
The leaves usually bear signs of insect damage, a feature so common it is considered characteristic of the species. The flowers are arranged in dense, rusty panicles up to 15 centimeters long. The individual flowers are difficult to see in the tight panicle until the stamens develop, [ 3 ] being only about a millimeter long.