the.com/clove
a sun-dried flower bud strong enough to numb a tooth and start a war
means A clove is the dried unopened flower bud of a tropical evergreen tree, used as a pungent, aromatic spice — or, separately, one of the segments that make up a bulb of garlic.
from Two words wearing the same coat. The spice 'clove' comes from the French clou, meaning 'nail,' because the little dried bud looks just like a tiny nail — from Latin clavus, 'nail.' The garlic 'clove' is a different beast entirely: it descends from Old English clufu, related to 'cleave,' meaning a thing split off — a cousin of the cloven hoof. So one clove is named for a nail, the other for being broken apart, and English simply let them share a spelling.
- actually buds
- the spice is an unopened flower bud
- war fuel
- sparked colonial bloodshed over its monopoly
- dental hero
- eugenol numbs pain like a natural anesthetic
- one tree
- the legendary Afo tree defied a clove embargo
- cigarette flavor
- Indonesia burns most cloves in kretek smokes
zanzibar clove plantations — tanzania produces ~80% of world's cloves, historic spice trade center since 1800s
madagascar clove exports — second-largest producer, ~15% of global supply, primary economic crop
indonesian clove cigarettes — kretek cigarettes use cloves as primary flavoring, $2+ billion market in indonesia