Amomum subulatum
Roxb.
Greater Indian cardamom, Nepalese cardamom
(c) Phuentsho, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Phuentsho
(c) connk, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by connk
What to Eat
Edible parts: Fruit, Seeds, Spice, Flowers, Shoots
The seeds are used as a savory spice flavoring curries, soups, and sausages—similar to cardamom but less sweet. The tender shoots and flowers are also eaten.
Where to Find It
It is a tropical plant. It grows between 1000 and 2000 m altitude in moist places in Nepal. In China it grows in dense forests between 300-1300 m altitude in S China. It is often along watercourses.
Asia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Northeastern India, SE Asia, Sikkim, Thailand,
How to Identify
A herb in the ginger family. It grows 1-2 m high. The leaves are 30-60 cm long and 7.5-10.5 cm wide. They are oblong or sword shaped. They are green. The flowers emerge in a dense short spike near the ground. The flowers are yellowish. The base is rounded or wedge shaped and the tip forms a long cup shape. The bracts are pale red and oval. The fruit is a round capsule. It is purple to red-brown and 2-2.5 cm across. It has 10 wavy wings. It contains about 40 small round dark-brown seeds. They are in a soft, sweet smelling pulp.
How to Grow
Plants are grown by splitting the rhizome.
Medicinal Uses
Traditional uses documented in the Food Plants International database.
Other Uses
The fruit contains 1.5% essential oils. The oil contains cineol.
Production
The pods are dried.
Other Information
It is a cultivated food plant.
Notes
There are about 150 Amomum species. They are mostly tropical. The seeds contain cineol.
Names & Synonyms
Alainchi, Bara elachi, Barra illaichi, Bengal cardamom, Black cardamom, Brown cardamom, Buah pelaga, Elaichi, Hpala-gyi, Illaichi, Ka-ko-la, Kapulaga, Large cardamom, Luk kravan, Melangthi, Mutum khobu telli, Phalazee, Phree langdung, Sikkim cardamom, Sokruno, Taling, Thuo elainchi, Winged cardamom, Xiang dou kou
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