Amomum aromaticum (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Amomum aromaticum Roxb.

Family: Zingiberaceae

Synonyms

Geocallis fasciculata Horan.

Vernacular names

• Bengal or Nepal cardamom (En)

• Vietnam: thảo quả

Distribution

Tropical eastern Himalayas (Bangladesh, India (Assam), Nepal), wild and cultivated. Possibly cultivated also in Vietnam.

Uses

Seed used as a spice and medicinally, in the same way as other cardamoms.

Observations

• Herb with rhizome from which leafy shoots and separate inflorescences appear. Leafy stem about 1 m tall.
• Leaf oblong-lanceolate, 15-30 cm × 5-10 cm, glabrous.
• Inflorescence a short- peduncled, small globose spike.
• Flower with pale yellow labellum that is twice as long as the corolla segments, and anthers with a large, petaloid, 3-lobed connectivum.
• Fruit an oblongoid-trigonal capsule, about 2.5 cm long.

A. aromaticum flowers in the dry season and fruits in September. The seed contains cineol. It is possibly of interest for South-East Asia.

Selected sources

• Burkill, I.H., 1935. A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula. 2 volumes. Crown Agents for the Colonies, London, United Kingdom. 2402 pp. (slightly revised reprint, 1966. 2 volumes. Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 2444 pp.).

• Hooker, J.D., 1872-1897. Flora of British India. 7 volumes. Reeve, London, United Kingdom.

• Mansfeld, R., 1986. Verzeichnis landwirtschaftlicher und gärtnerischer Kulturpflanzen (ohne Zierpflanzen) [Register of agricultural and horticultural plants in cultivation (without ornamentals)]. Schultze‑Motel, J. et al., editors 2nd edition, 4 volumes. Springer Verlag, Berlin, Germany. 1998 pp.

• Roxburgh, W., 1832. Flora Indica. Carey edition. Reprint 1874. Thacker, Spink & Co., Calcutta, India. 763 pp.

Authors

P.C.M. Jansen