California nutmeg

noun

1. a tall, pungently aromatic California evergreen tree, Torreya californica, of the yew family, having a fissured, gray-brown bark and small, purple-streaked, green fruit.

Word History and Origins

Origin of California nutmeg¹

An Americanism dating back to 1905–10

Example Sentences

It is the tree locally known under the name of the California nutmeg.

From Project Gutenberg