Nut·meg n.  Bot. The kernel of the fruit of the nutmeg tree (Myristica fragrans), a native of the Molucca Islands, but cultivated elsewhere in the tropics.
 Note: ☞ This fruit is a nearly spherical drupe, of the size of a pear, of a yellowish color without and almost white within. This opens into two nearly equal longitudinal valves, inclosing the nut surrounded by its aril, which is mace.  The nutmeg is an aromatic, very grateful to the taste and smell, and much used in cookery.  Other species of Myristica yield nutmegs of inferior quality.
 American nutmeg, Calabash nutmeg, or Jamaica nutmeg, the fruit of a tropical shrub (Monodora Myristica).  It is about the size of an orange, and contains many aromatic seeds imbedded in pulp.
 Brazilian nutmeg, the fruit of a lauraceous tree, Cryptocarya moschata.
 California nutmeg, a tree of the Yew family (Torreya Californica), growing in the Western United States, and having a seed which resembles a nutmeg in appearance, but is strongly impregnated with turpentine.
 Clove nutmeg, the Ravensara aromatica, a lauraceous tree of Madagascar. The foliage is used as a spice, but the seed is acrid and caustic.
 Jamaica nutmeg. See American nutmeg (above).
 Nutmeg bird Zool., an Indian finch (Munia punctularia).
 Nutmeg butter, a solid oil extracted from the nutmeg by expression.
 Nutmeg flower Bot., a ranunculaceous herb (Nigella sativa) with small black aromatic seeds, which are used medicinally and for excluding moths from furs and clothing.
 Nutmeg liver Med., a name applied to the liver, when, as the result of heart or lung disease, it undergoes congestion and pigmentation about the central veins of its lobules, giving it an appearance resembling that of a nutmeg.
 Nutmeg melon Bot., a small variety of muskmelon of a rich flavor.
 Nutmeg pigeon Zool., any one of several species of pigeons of the genus Myristicivora, native of the East Indies and Australia.  The color is usually white, or cream-white, with black on the wings and tail.
 Nutmeg wood Bot., the wood of the Palmyra palm.
 Peruvian nutmeg, the aromatic seed of a South American tree (Laurelia sempervirens).
 Plume nutmeg Bot., a spicy tree of Australia (Atherosperma moschata).
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 Plume n.
 1. A feather; esp., a soft, downy feather, or a long, conspicuous, or handsome feather.
    Wings . . . of many a colored plume.   --Milton.
 2. Zool. An ornamental tuft of feathers.
 3. A feather, or group of feathers, worn as an ornament; a waving ornament of hair, or other material resembling feathers.
    His high plume, that nodded o'er his head.   --Dryden.
 4. A token of honor or prowess; that on which one prides himself; a prize or reward. “Ambitious to win from me some plume.”
 5. Bot. A large and flexible panicle of inflorescence resembling a feather, such as is seen in certain large ornamental grasses.
 Plume bird Zool., any bird that yields ornamental plumes, especially the species of Epimarchus from New Guinea, and some of the herons and egrets, as the white heron of Florida (Ardea candidissima).
 Plume grass. Bot (a) A kind of grass (Erianthus saccharoides) with the spikelets arranged in great silky plumes, growing in swamps in the Southern United States. (b) The still finer Erianthus Ravennæ from the Mediterranean region. The name is sometimes extended to the whole genus.
 Plume moth Zool., any one of numerous small, slender moths, belonging to the family Pterophoridæ. Most of them have the wings deeply divided into two or more plumelike lobes. Some species are injurious to the grapevine.
 Plume nutmeg Bot., an aromatic Australian tree (Atherosperma moschata), whose numerous carpels are tipped with long plumose persistent styles.