[ALL- E 1 + SPICE, so called because it has been ‘supposed to combine the flavor of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.’]
1. An aromatic spice, also called Jamaica Pepper or Pimenta, the dried berry of Eugenia Pimenta or Allspice Tree (N.O. Myrtaceæ) of the West Indies.
1621. Burton, Anat. Mel., II. iv. I. iv. Ambergrease, nutmegs and allspice.
1866. Morn. Star, 17 March. Reduction in value of the pimento or all-spice.
2. With various epithets, applied to other aromatic shrubs: Allspice Tree or Carolina Allspice, Calycanthus floridus, a flowering shrub, native to U.S., and cultivated in Engl.; Japan Allspice, Chimonanthus fragrans, an early-flowering shrub introduced from China in 1766; Wild Allspice, Lindera Benzoin, a lauraceous shrub native to N. Amer., bearing an aromatic berry, said to have been used as a substitute for allspice.
1768. Miller, Gard. Dict. (ed. 8), Ii. 3. The bark … has a very strong aromatic scent; from whence the inhabitants of Carolina gave it the title of Allspice.
1789. Aiton, Hort. Kew., II. 220. Japan Allspice.
1830. Rafinesque, Med. Flora, II. 236. Lindera benzoin has many vulgar names, Spicewood, Allspice.
1866. J. Balfour, in Treas. Bot., 203. The bark of Carolina Allspice is used as a substitute for cinnamon.
1866. A. Black, ibid., 270. The Japan Allspice is a much-branched shrub, and generally treated as a wall-plant in gardens.
