Each clove is a dried flower bud — ChillScroll

Green and red clove buds on a leafy branch above several dried brown cloves

Each clove is a dried flower bud

Cloves come from the unopened flower buds of a tropical evergreen tree. The buds change from green to red as they mature, and growers harvest and dry them before the petals open.

A spice jar is holding a tiny aromatic bouquet that never opened.

Source · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew ↗