Allspice, Or Jamaica Pepper, the immature berry of the Eugenia pimenta, so named from its being supposed to combine the flavor of several other spices, such as cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. The allspice, pimento, or bayberry tree is a native of South America and the West India islands, especially Jamaica. The tree is of a highly ornamental character, often upward of 25 or 30 feet in height; the leaves inclining to oval, covering the numerous branches with a luxuriant evergreen foliage; the flowers small and without show, succeeded by spherical berries with a persistent calyx, and a fragrant aromatic odor. When they are quite ripe, they are of a dark purple color, and filled with a sweet pulp. In many parts of Jamaica the allspice tree grows in great abundance without cultivation, but it is not easily propagated by artificial means. The commercial value of the fruit makes it an object of great interest with the planters, and no crop receives a larger share of attention. The favorite situation for a pimento walk, or plantation, is among the hills on the north side of the island.

A spot is selected in the vicinity of another plantation, or in a locality favorable to the spontaneous growth of the trees; this is stripped of all other wood, and the young pimento plants soon make their appearance, either from seeds previously existing in the soil, or which have been deposited by birds, who feed upon the berries with great avidity. It is said that a single tree has been known to produce 150 lbs. of the raw fruit, or 100 lbs. of the dried spice. The crop, however, is uncertain, and abundant only once in five years. The berries require care in gathering as well as drying. They must be picked when they have attained full growth, but before they begin to ripen, and carefully dried. When the seeds are allowed to ripen fully, they lose that aromatic warmth for which they are esteemed as a spice, and acquire a taste almost exactly like that of juniper berries, which renders them agreeable food for birds, the most industrious planters of these trees. The leaves and the bark participate in the warm aromatic properties of the berries.