Spice Plants

Wikipedia defines a spice as "a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, leaf, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for the purpose of flavour, colour, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth."

The EEB Greenhouse collections contain many species of plants that are used as spices all over the world. Browse the listing at right to learn more about some of these common (and not-so-common) spice plants.

Collection Accessions:

• Allium schoenoprasum - Chives - Amaryllidaceae
• Bixa orellana - Annatto, Lipstick Tree - Bixaceae
• Capsicum chinense - Indian Chile - Solanaceae
• Cinnamomum zeylanicum - Ceylon Cinnamon - Lauraceae
• Cymbopogon flexuosus - East Indian Lemon Grass - Poaceae
• Eutrema japonica - Wasabi - Brassicaceae
• Houttuynia cordata - Chameleon Plant, Heartleaf, Giap ca - Saururaceae
• Laurus nobilis - Laurel, Sweet Bay - Lauraceae
• Lippia dulcis - Aztec Sweet Herb - Verbenaceae
• Piper auritum - Mexican Pepperleaf, Hoja Santa , Veracruz Pepper, False Kava - Piperaceae
• Piper nigrum - Black Pepper, White Pepper - Piperaceae
• Piper sylvaticum - Pahari Pipul, Mountain Long Pepper - Piperaceae
• Punica granatum Nana - Dwarf Pomegranate - Lythraceae
• Rosmarinus officinalis - Rosemary - Lamiaceae
• Ruta graveolens - Common Rue, Herb-of-Grace - Rutaceae
• Saccharum officinarum - Sugar Cane - Poaceae
• Spilanthes oleracea - Toothache Plant, Para Cress - Asteraceae
• Stevia rebaudiana - Stevia, Sweet Herb - Asteraceae
• Syzygium aromaticum - Clove - Myrtaceae
• Tamarindus indicus - Tamarind - Fabaceae
• Vanilla cf. pompona - Vanilla Orchid - Orchidaceae
• Vitex Agnus-castus - Chaste Tree - Lamiaceae
• Zanthoxylum simulans - Szechuan Peppercorn - Rutaceae
• Zingiber officinale - Canton Ginger, Common Ginger - Zingiberaceae
• WISHLIST ITEM: Tasmannia lanceolata - Tasmanian Pepper, Mountain Pepper - Winteraceae
• WISHLIST ITEM: Trapa bicornis - Ling Nut, Devil Pod, Bat Nut - Lythraceae