Lavandula angustifolia is much more than its familiar purple flowers. Explore lavender's silver foliage, Mediterranean origins, aromatic compounds, visiting pollinators and long relationship with fragrance, linens and calm.
Mace begins as the brilliant red aril wrapped around a nutmeg seed. Explore how it becomes a delicate dried spice, its relationship with nutmeg and the difficult history behind its journey from the Banda Islands.
True cinnamon is the carefully prepared inner bark of Sri Lanka's Cinnamomum verum. Explore how its layered quills are made, how cinnamon differs from cassia and the skilled labour and colonial history behind the spice.
Juniper berries are actually the fleshy seed cones of Juniperus communis. Explore their unusual development, dusty blue bloom, concentrated fragrance and long associations with smoke, protection and purification.
Glycyrrhiza glabra hides its characteristic sweetness within fibrous yellow roots. Explore glycyrrhizin, its long history of use, botanical lookalikes and associations with attraction and influence.
