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nutmeg seed and fruit botanical drawing

Sketch of the day in my moleskine art journal is the forgotten spice the Nutmeg. It was one of the spices that changed the world and sparked the age of exploration. Empires fought over lands to secure the production of nutmeg and the island of Penang, located along the straits of Malacca was secured by the East India Company, backed by the British Empire to have a safe port to repair ships and get fresh supplies of water. It eventually became such an important trading port that Penang was a British residency.
Nutmeg is the seed of the tree. Mace is the red covering of the seed and the fruit can be eaten as well. Nutmeg seed and mace is used as flavouring, has medicinal properties. The fruit is dried and sugared or pickled.