Laura Helm, age 13, of Decatur, I11., for her question:

WHERE DO WE GET CLOVES?

Cloves are the unopened flower buds of the tropical clove tree. The reddish buds grow on jointed stalks. When the buds are dried, they are dark brown and look like little nails.

The clove tree, an evergreen, grows 15 to 30 feet tall. The trees grow wild in parts of Indonesia and the West Indies. The trees are grown as a crop in Indonesia, the Malagasy Republic and Tanzania.

The trees produce purplish flowers. The buds of these flowers, called cloves, are picked before they open. They are reddish when picked but turn dark brown when dried.

Cloves have a fragrant odor and a warm, sharp taste. They are used chiefly in cooking. An oil taken from the buds and stem of the clove tree is used to flavor desserts and candies and also to scent soaps.

The name clove comes from the French word for nail because of the shape of the flower bud. The clove tree belongs to the myrtle family of trees.