Cloves are the produce of an aromatic, evergreen tree native to the Indonesia islands of Molucca and the southern Philippines, now cultivated in Tanzania and Madagascar. The tree grows to a height of 15 metres and has a pyramid shape to its branches. The leaves are opposite, ovate-lanceolate in shape and dark glossy green, almost leathery to the touch and are 8-13cm in length. The flowers present in terminal clusters of tubular and are pale creamy white in colour which gradually changes from green through to bright red, the clove flower bud is harvested before the flower opens, the buds are 1.5-2cm in length and are left to ripen in the sun.
