Spice trade Spice trade The spice trade refers to the trade between historical civilizations in Asia, Northeast Africa and Europe. Spices such as cinnamon, cassia, cardamom, ginger, pepper, and turmeric were known and used in antiquity for commerce in the Eastern World. These spices found their way into the Middle East before the beginning of the Christian era, where the true sources of these spices were withheld by the traders and associated with fantastic tales. Early writings and stone age carvings of neolithic age obtained indicates that India's southwest coastal port Muziris, in Kerala, had established itself as a major spice trade
Cassia (genus) to prevent desertification. "Cassia" species are used as food plants by the caterpillars of many lepidopteran taxa. For example, the skipper "Astraptes fulgerator" and the pierids "Catopsilia pomona" and "C. pyranthe" are all seen on "Cassia fistula". The latter utilizes several other cassias, as well. The plant pathogenic viruses cassia yellow blotch bromovirus and cassia yellow spot potyvirus were first described from "Cassia". Because the name "Cassia" is not precise, it is sometimes difficult to know what is meant by references to plants known as "cassias". Cassia gum, for example, is made from "Senna obtusifolia", a species formerly included in