Nutmeg - Origin, diversity, distribution and history

Abstract

Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans Houtt.) a small holder’s crop, with 3500 years of antiquity originated in the Moluccas, Indonesia, is now grown in about 12 countries including some secondary centres of domestication. Centres of domestication overlap the centre of origin in nutmeg. Out of about 175 species in the genus, only five are economically important. Besides species diversity and cultivar diversity, ecosystem diversity is also a component of biodiversity of the genus. The genus is represented by six species including four endemic species and subspecies each in India. A comprehensive work on Indian Myristica is pertinent. The history of the spice is mired in bloody wars, piracies, privateers, clandestine collection trips, wanton felling of the heirloom trees besides inadvertent specimen identity, inaccurate chronology and a treaty of land swap. Though French and British colonial rulers took interest in popularising nutmeg in their colonies albeit for economic gains, the role of French was pivotal. The package of practices of nutmeg (Colonial Horticulture) in the new French colonies were a complex process of creolizing the expertise borrowed from the native people of the Moluccas with the horticultural knowledge of the colonists, traders, settlers, slaves and other local residents. Though nutmeg, a perennial tree of about 100 years of life span, has only about 300 years of domestication history in the country, the cultivar diversity is amazing as exemplified by the high frequency of farmer’s varieties. The nutmeg population of the country also exhibits good phenotypic plasticity as demonstrated by leaky dioecy. While the transnational spread of nutmeg is a legacy of colonial rulers, the settlers mainly Christians, are credited with the intrastate spread of nutmeg in Kerala, the major area of production in India. History of nutmeg is still in an emerging phase and there are gaps in our understanding.