Myristicaceae
Nutmeg
Myristica fragrans
- Family
- Myristicaceae
- Genus
- Myristica
Pets and kids
- CatsToxic
- DogsToxic
- KidsToxic
Why
Cats: Toxic
Toxic to cats (severe). Toxic principle: myristicin.
Signs: hallucinations, disorientation, rapid heart rate, vomiting, seizures.
- Nutmeg And Cinnamon Toxicity | Pet Poison Helpline® Poison control
Dogs: Toxic
Toxic to dogs (severe). Toxic principle: myristicin.
Signs: hallucinations, disorientation, rapid heart rate, dry mouth, seizures.
- Nutmeg And Cinnamon Toxicity | Pet Poison Helpline® Poison control
Kids: Toxic
Toxic to young children (severe). Toxic principle: myristicin.
Signs: nausea, vomiting, agitation, prolonged drowsiness, coma.
- Kitchen surprises and cautions | Poison Control Poison control
Is yours looking unwell? Scan your plant — free
Is Nutmeg safe for cats, dogs and kids?
Is Nutmeg safe for cats?
No. Our sources call Nutmeg toxic to cats (severe). Toxic principle: myristicin. Signs: hallucinations, disorientation, rapid heart rate, vomiting, seizures.
- Nutmeg And Cinnamon Toxicity | Pet Poison Helpline® Poison control
Is Nutmeg safe for dogs?
No. Our sources call Nutmeg toxic to dogs (severe). Toxic principle: myristicin. Signs: hallucinations, disorientation, rapid heart rate, dry mouth, seizures.
- Nutmeg And Cinnamon Toxicity | Pet Poison Helpline® Poison control
Is Nutmeg safe for kids?
No. Our sources call Nutmeg toxic to young children (severe). Toxic principle: myristicin. Signs: nausea, vomiting, agitation, prolonged drowsiness, coma.
- Kitchen surprises and cautions | Poison Control Poison control
Ate some? Call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 (a fee may apply). For a child, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 (US). If they are struggling to breathe or collapse, call 911. Don't give anything by mouth unless a vet or poison expert tells you to.
See all cat-safe plants, dog-safe plants and child-safe plants.
Common names
By language (63)
- Arabic
- جوزة الطيب العطر, بسباسة, جوز الطيب, جوزا بوا
- arz
- جوزة الطيب العطر
- ban
- Jebugarum
- Bangla
- জয়ত্রি, জয়ত্রী, জাতিফল, জায়ফল, মালতীফল
- Basque
- Intxaur muskatu
- Burmese
- ဇာတိပ္ဖိုလ်
- Cantonese
- 肉豆蔻
- Catalan
- Arbre de la nou moscada
- Chinese
- 肉豆蔻, 玉果, 肉果, 肉豆蔻衣, 碩果肉荳蔻, 腺梗肉荳蔻, 裂孔肉荳蔻
- Croatian
- Muškatov oraščić
- csb
- Przëprawòwi mùskatówc
- Czech
- Muškátovník vonný, Macizeň pravá, Muškátovník pravý
- Danish
- Muskatnødtræ
- Dutch
- Muskaatboom
- English
- Nutmeg, Fragrant nutmeg, Nutmeg tree, True nutmeg
- Estonian
- Lõhnav muskaadipuu
- Finnish
- Muskottipuu
- French
- Muscadier
- frr
- Muskaatnöd
- German
- Muskatnussbaum
- gor
- Pala
- Greek
- Μοσχοκαρυδιά
- Haitian Creole
- Miska
- Hindi
- मिरिस्तिका फ्राग्रान्स, जायफल
- hsb
- Prawy muskatownik
- Hungarian
- Szerecsendió, Muskátdió
- iba
- Pala
- Indonesian
- Pala
- Irish
- Crann noitmigí
- Japanese
- ニクズク, にくずく, ナツメグの木, 肉荳蔲, 肉豆蒄
- Javanese
- Pala
- Kannada
- ಮೈರಿಸ್ಟಿಕಾ ಫ್ರಾಗ್ರನ್ಸ್, ಜಾಯಿಕಾಯಿ
- Kazakh
- Жұпар ағашы
- ks
- زاپھَل کُل
- lah
- جائیپھل
- Latvian
- Smaržīgais muskatrieksts, Smaržīgais muskats
- Lithuanian
- Kvapusis muskatmedis
- Luxembourgish
- Meskot, Muskat, Muskot
- mad
- Pa'ala
- Malayalam
- ജാതി
- min
- Palo
- Norwegian Bokmål
- Muskat
- Norwegian Nynorsk
- Muskat
- Occitan
- Muscadièr
- os
- Хæрздæф мускат
- Persian
- گردوی بویا
- Polish
- Muszkatołowiec korzenny
- Portuguese
- Noz moscada
- Russian
- Мускатник душистый
- Sanskrit
- जाती
- Scottish Gaelic
- Cnò-mheannt
- Serbian (Latin)
- Muškatov oraščić
- shn
- ၸႃႇတိၽူဝ်ႇ, မၢၵ်ႇၸႃႇတိၽူဝ်ႇ, မၢၵ်ႇၸႃႇတီႉၽူဝ်ႇ
- Sindhi
- ڄانڦل
- Slovak
- Muškátovník voňavý
- Spanish
- Nuez De Banda, Nuez De Especias, Nuez Moscada
- Sundanese
- Pala
- Swedish
- Muskot
- Thai
- จันทน์เทศหอม
- Turkish
- Küçük hindistan cevizi
- Ukrainian
- Мускатник
- Urdu
- جائفل
- Vietnamese
- Nhục đậu khấu
Synonyms
- Aruana silvestris Burm.f.
- Myristica amboinensis Gand.
- Myristica aromatica Sw.
- Myristica aromatica Lam.
- Myristica laurella Gand.
- Myristica moschata Thunb.
- Myristica officinalis L.f.
- Myristica philippinensis Gand.
- Palala fragrans (Houtt.) Kuntze
Characteristics
- Growth habit
- Tree
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- In the US and Canada
- Puerto Rico: introduced
Photos
FruitPhoto: Kristof Zyskowski, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
FruitPhoto: libby hepburn, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Wiki Farazi, CC0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: tlaloc27, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Dr Peter James Chisholm, CC0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Siya ul haque, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Navaneethpp, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Herusutimbul, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Kristof Zyskowski, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Myrmux, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Denis RAMAGE, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Stephanie Tran, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
More in Myristica
- Malabar nutmegMyristica malabaricaMyristicaceae
- Magnificent nutmegMyristica magnificaMyristicaceae
- Long nutmegMyristica argenteaMyristicaceae
- Bitter nutmegMyristica beddomeiMyristicaceae
- Myristica inersMyristicaceae
- Myristica albaMyristicaceae
- Myristica filipesMyristicaceae
- Myristica globosaMyristicaceae
- Myristica lepidotaMyristicaceae
- Myristica psilocarpaMyristicaceae
- Chinese nutmegMyristica yunnanensisMyristicaceae
- Myristica andamanicaMyristicaceae
Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.