It comes as a surprise to many that clove is actually a flower bud, these buds have to be picked at just the right time. Before flowering the buds will turn a deep red and this is the ideal time to harvest your clove. Clove buds come from an evergreen bush with vibrant pink flowers and purple berries. The clove plant does best in warm and humid regions. The earliest written record of the use of clove as a medicinal herb is by the Han Dynasty in China around 300 B.C. Like cinnamon clove was a prized spice and once rivaled the value of oil.