Calabash nutmeg is the dried, oily seed of Monodora myristica, a tropical African tree of the custard-apple family (Annonaceae) — botanically unrelated to true nutmeg yet so similar in its warm, sweet, nutmeg-and-clove aroma that it is its classic West-African substitute. Known across the region as ehuru, ehiri, ariwo, awerewa or African nutmeg, the seed is roasted, peeled and grated into soups, stews, pepper soup and porridges from Nigeria to Senegal.