Mace is a spice obtained from dried covering of the nutmeg fruit seed, one of several species in the genus Myristica. Nutmeg is native to the Mulucca Islands of Indonesia (the Spice Islands). The nutmeg tree is also the source of the spice, nutmeg, which is the ground form of the seed.


The common or fragrant nutmeg, Myristica fragrans, native to the Banda Islands of Indonesia, is also grown in Penang Island in Malaysia and the Caribbean, especially in Grenada. It also grows in Kerala, a state in southern India. Other species of nutmeg include Papuan nutmeg M. argentea from New Guinea, and Bombay nutmeg M. malabarica from India, called jaiphal in Hindi; both are used as adulterants of M. fragrans products.