The title compound, C20H32O3, was isolated from the Indian spice M. malabarica. It is built up by a C—C linkage between a 2,6-dihydroxyphenyl moiety and the terminal carbonyl C atom of tetradecanal, which has an extended chain conformation. There is an intramolecular O—H...O hydrogen bond enclosing an S(6) ring motif. In the crystal, molecules are linked by O—H...O hydrogen bonds, forming zigzag chains propagating along [001]. The chains pack in a herringbone arrangement up the a axis.