豆蔻 refers to both a spice plant (cardamom or nutmeg) and, in literary and poetic contexts, a young girl in her early teenage years — most famously in the phrase 豆蔻年华 (dòu kòu nián huá), which describes a girl around 13–14 years old. The spice sense is concrete and used in cooking; the literary sense is a metaphor drawn from the plant's delicate, budding appearance.