Tenkasi-Puliyangudi clove

Grown in the foothills and lower slopes of the Ghats, with a distinct micro-climate between Kanyakumari and the Nilgiris. May develop different oil profiles due to local soil and weather patterns.

Key facts

Figures are indicative, compiled from public agricultural sources (ICAR institutes, State Agricultural Universities, the Spices Board and the National Innovation Foundation) and vary with soil, season and management. Confirm with your local package of practices.

Tenkasi-Puliyangudi clove in detail

A traditional local cultivar grown in the Tenkasi-Tirunelveli foothills of Tamil Nadu's Western Ghats, selected and maintained by generations of small farmers in a region known for a distinct microclimate that varies with soil moisture and temperature.

Origin & story

Tenkasi lies within the clove-growing belt of Tamil Nadu that traces back to the East India Company's introduction of clove at Courtallam around 1800, after which cultivation spread to the Western Ghats foothills, the Nilgiris and southern Travancore in the period after 1850. There is no documented selection history or breeder attribution for a named Tenkasi-Puliyangudi variety; it represents farmer-maintained local germplasm typical of the region.

How it grows

Grown in the foothills and lower slopes of the Western Ghats in Tirunelveli district, benefiting from warm, humid conditions and well-distributed annual rainfall (clove generally does well with roughly 150-250 cm) on deep, well-drained, fertile soils. The microclimate varies with slope aspect and altitude, which affects soil temperature and moisture retention. Clove is slow to mature and long-lived once established. Propagation is by seed taken from healthy, regularly bearing trees; clove seed loses viability quickly and is best sown soon after collection.

Quality & character

Bud morphology and oil yield show local variation, and no standardized size or quality data specific to this cultivar is published. Diversity surveys across the South Western Ghats have recorded significant variation in bud size, flower clustering pattern and fruit and seed shape across thirty clove accessions. Volatile oil content and eugenol profiles are likely to vary locally with soil and altitude, but no specific chemical analysis of Tenkasi-grown material is documented.

Why it matters to buyers

As a local cultivar without formal varietal registration or GI protection, it lacks the documented premium pricing and certified characteristics of Kanyakumari clove, which holds a GI tag and commands higher prices on the strength of verified 21% volatile oil and 86% eugenol content. Buyers seeking this cultivar would need direct farmer relationships or local traders; no commercial certification or export pathway is evident. Bud quality remains variable and depends on individual plantation management.

Other clove varieties

• Kanniyakumari Clove
• Local South Indian homestead type
• Zanzibar type
• Penang type
• Sikotok
• Siputih
• Idukki High-Altitude clove
• Nilgiris blue-mountain clove
• Madagascar type
• Sri Lankan type
• Indigenous Western Ghats mixed-homestead clove
• Seedling clove (unselected)