Allspice Tree
Pimenta dioica

days to maturity:
plant spacing: 1 plant per 15 square feet
sunlight requirements: 6-14 hours
look out for: fruit flies and bark beetles
harvest notes: harvest unripe berries for more flavor or leaves for use dried or fresh
seasons: spring, summer, fall and winter
perennial

Allspice, also called Jamaica Pepper, Myrtle Pepper, Pimenta, Turkish Yenibahar, English Pepper or Newspice, is the dried, unripe fruit (berries used as a spice) of Pimenta dioica. It is a midcanopy tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico, Central America, and now cultivated in many warm parts of the world. The name ‘allspice’ was coined as early as 1621 by the English, who thought it combined the flavor of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. We love Allspice trees because they are a nice, small, slow growing tree with the most fragrant leaves! While the allspice berries are what are used commercially, the entire tree smells of spices and the leaves can be used to make tea or syrups. Leaves and branches can also be used in smoking foods! Next time you’re deep in your annual Allspice prune, save the trimmings to use in a fun culinary way, like using the cured wood for smoking, or the leaves in a spice blend or baked good.