The Spice Melange, commonly referred to simply as 'the spice', was a naturally produced awareness spectrum narcotic that formed a fundamental block of commerce and technological development in the known universe for millennia. It also played an important role in travel and cultural development.

Since its discovery several thousand years prior to the ascent of House Atreides it was produced exclusively on the planet Arrakis. This was because the conditions on Arrakis by which melange was created were unique to that planet.

Origins: The spice originated on the planet Arrakis, where it was produced deep beneath the sands. It was created in a process whereby the fungal excretions of sandtrout would mix with water to form a pre-spice mass. This mass would then be brought to the surface of the desert through an explosion of pressure, and under the intense heat and air of Arrakis, melange would form. When the worms died, sandtrout would be released into the sand, and the cycle of creation would repeat.