Juan Manuel Borrero / Illustration of Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum). Pencil and watercolor painting.

Sandesh Kadur / Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) pods held in hand. Grows wild in the monsoon forests of the Western Ghats, and cultivated for its value in ayurvedic medicine and as a food spice. India.

Pete Oxford / Spices for sale in the Medina, Fes, Morocco, June 2009

Pete Oxford / Spices for sale in the Medina, Fes, Morocco, June 2009

Pete Oxford / Spices and snake skins for sale in the Medicine and Fetish Market, Djemaa el-Fna (the square), Marrakech, Morocco, June 2009

Juan Manuel Borrero / Selection of spices for sale on market stall, Belen Market. Iquitos. Loreto. Peru October 2009

Fabio Liverani / Man sitting on mat outside his home, preparing Cinnamon (Cinnamomun sp.) Madu River, Sri Lanka. June 2010

Fabio Liverani / Man sitting on mat outside his home, preparing Cinnamon (Cinnamomun sp.) Madu River, Sri Lanka. June 2010

Staffan Widstrand / Fruit and spices for sale at the food market, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, February 2007

Juergen Freund / Vanilla {Vanilla planifolia} plantation, Tonga, Melanesia, 2007

Juergen Freund / Pandanus leaves drying in the sun, Tonga, Melanesia, 2007

Juergen Freund / Pandanus leaves drying in the sun, Tonga, Melanesia, 2007

Juergen Freund / Woman showing vanilla beans freshly dried, Tonga, Melanesia, 2007

Juergen Freund / Vanilla {Vanilla planifolia} plantation, Tonga, Melanesia, 2007

Jouan & Rius / Woman spreads Vanilla beans for drying in the sun, Maroantsetra, North East Madagascar

Jose B. Ruiz / Tumeric roots {Curcuma longa} Spain

Juergen Freund / Cloves drying on the streets of Siau Island which has fertile soil caused by volcanic ash from the Karengetan volcano, Sulwesi, Indonesia

Juergen Freund / Nutmeg {Myristica sp} drying on the streets of Siau Island which has fertile soil caused by volcanic ash from the Karengetan volcano, Sulawesi, Indonesia

Juergen Freund / Freshly harvested cloves drying on the streets of Siau Island which has fertile soil caused by volcanic ash from the Karengetan volcano, Sulawesi, Indonesia

Nature Production / Young corns of Black pepper {Piper nigrum} Japan

Willem Kolvoort / Clove seeds drying (Syzygium aromaticum) Ambon, Indonesia

Willem Kolvoort / Clove seeds drying (Syzygium aromaticum) Ambon, Indonesia

Willem Kolvoort / Cloves in flower (Syzygium aromaticum) Ambon, Indonesia

Luiz Claudio Marigo / {Piper hispidinervium} source of safrole used in insecticide, Amazonas, Brazil

Claudio Velasquez / Spices and preserves in market stall, Mahe, Seychelles, Indian Ocean

Pete Oxford / Wild ginger flower {Zingiberaceae} with visiting bee Madre de Dios rainforest, Peru Spouth America - Insect visit sequence 2/2

Staffan Widstrand / Man selling spices, Luxor, Egpyt.

Pete Oxford / Wild ginger flower {Zingiberaceae} Madre de Dios, rainforest, Peru, South America - Insect visit sequence 1/2

Juergen Freund / Mace, the inner skin of nutmeg, drying in sun {Myristica fragrans} Sulawesi, Indonesia - Sangihe talaud islands

Juergen Freund / Nutmeg and cloves fresh from the tree {Myristica fragrans} Sulawesi, Indonesia - Sangihe talaud islands

Roberto Rinaldi / Black pepper (Piper nigrum), Sarawak, Borneo.

Roberto Rinaldi / Person holding black pepper (Piper nigrum), being sun-dried at the Iban long house at Nanga Sumpa, Delok river, Sarawak, Borneo.

Roberto Rinaldi / Black pepper (Piper nigrum) being dried in the sun at the Iban long house at Nanga Sumpa, Delok river, Sarawak, Borneo.

Juergen Freund / Nutmeg cloves drying in sun {Myristica fragrans} Sulawesi Indonesia Sangihe talaud islands

Juergen Freund / Dried nutmeg {Myristica fragrans} Sulawesi Indonesia Sangihe talaud islands