What parts of plants are spices usually derived from?
I was wondering what spices tend to be “made of”, knowing that not all were seeds but not really knowing much more than that. I adapted the list here to get 34 spices (some of which I don’t really think of as spices, but never mind) and categorised them according to which part of the plant they come from. Some are a bit surprising.
Aril (this is a seed covering)
Mace
Bark
Cassia, cinnamon
Flower
Clove
Fruit
Allspice, black pepper, caraway seeds, cardamom, cayenne pepper, celery seeds, chili pepper, coriander seeds, nutmeg, paprika, star anise, sumac, tamarind
Leaves
Garlic, onion
Root
Galangal, ginger, horseradish, licorice, turmeric
Seed
Ajwain, anise, black cumin, cumin, dill seeds, fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds, mustard, sesame
Stigma (this is part of a flower)
Saffron
I’m not going to use this limited list to decide what is universally most normally the origin for spices (additionally, it depends on your definition of spice), but in this case it is fruit and seeds. Here is a graph showing how many fall into each category:
Digressive Explanations 
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