>Citation bot at 21:47, 29 June 2021

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{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Speciesbox
|name = Green cardamom True cardamom
|image = Elettaria_cardamomum_-_Köhler–s_Medizinal-Pflanzen-057.jpg
|image_caption = True cardamom (''Elettaria cardamomum'') 1896 illustration<ref>Elettaria cardamomum - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen - Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen</ref>
|image2 = Cardamom pods - Green BNC.jpg
|genus = Elettaria
|species = cardamomum
|authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]) [[William George Maton|Maton]]
|synonyms_ref = <ref name="ginger"/>
|synonyms = *''Amomum cardamomum'' L.
* ''Amomum repens'' Sonn., illegitimate superfluous name
* ''Amomum racemosum'' Lam., illegitimate superfluous name
* ''Alpinia cardamomum'' (L.) Roxb.
* ''Cardamomum officinale'' Salisb.
* ''Zingiber cardamomum'' (L.) Stokes
* ''Matonia cardamomum'' (L.) Stephenson & J.M.Churchill
* ''Cardamomum verum'' Oken, illegitimate superfluous name
* ''Elettaria repens'' Baill., illegitimate superfluous name
* ''Elettaria cardamomum'' var. ''minor'' Watt, not validly published
* ''Cardamomum elletari'' Garsault, rejected name
* ''Zingiber minus'' Gaertn.
* ''Amomum ensal'' Raeusch.
* ''Amomum uncinatum'' Stokes
* ''Cardamomum malabaricum'' Pritz.
* ''Cardamomum minus'' (Gaertn.) Kuntze
* ''Elettaria cardamomum'' var. ''minuscula'' Burkill, without description
}}

'''''Elettaria cardamomum''''', commonly known as '''green '''or '''true cardamom''', is a [[herbaceous plant|herbaceous]], [[perennial plant]] in the [[Zingiberaceae|ginger family]], native to southern [[India]]. It is the most common of the species whose seeds are used as a spice called [[cardamom]]. It is cultivated widely in tropical regions and reportedly naturalized in [[Réunion]], [[Indochina]], and [[Costa Rica]].<ref name="ginger">{{cite web|url=http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=243056 |title=Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families |publisher=Apps.kew.org |access-date=2018-05-29}}</ref><ref>Larsen, K. (1996). A prelimanary checklist of the Zingiberaceae of Thailand. Thai Forest Bulletin (Botany) 24: 35-49.</ref><ref>Dy Phon, P. (2000). Dictionnaire des plantes utilisées au Cambodge: 1-915. Chez l'auteur, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.</ref><ref>Nelson Sutherland, C.H. (2008). Catálogo de las plantes vasculares de Honduras. Espermatofitas: 1-1576. SERNA/Guaymuras, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.</ref>

==Growth==
[[File:ElettariaCardamomum.jpg|thumb|left]]
''Elettaria cardamomum'' is a pungent, aromatic, herbaceous, perennial plant, growing to about {{convert|2–4|m|abbr=on}} in height. The leaves are alternate in two ranks, linear-lanceolate, {{convert|40–60|cm|abbr=on}} long, with a long pointed tip. The flowers are white to lilac or pale violet, produced in a loose spike {{convert|30–60|cm|abbr=on}} long. The fruit is a three-sided yellow-green pod {{convert|1–2|cm|abbr=on}} long, containing several (15-20) black and brown seeds.

==Uses==
The green seed pods of the plant are dried and the seeds inside the pod are used in [[Indian cuisine|Indian]] and other [[Asian cuisine]]s, either whole or ground. It is the most widely cultivated species of cardamom; for other types and uses, see [[cardamom]].
[[File:Cardamone.jpg|thumb|Cardamom pods as used as spice]]

True cardamom may have been used in [[Ayurveda]] medicine as early as the 4th century BC.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Prance |editor1-first=Ghillean |editor2-last=Nesbitt |editor2-first=Mark |last1=Pickersgill |first1=Barbara |author-link=Barbara Pickersgill |date=2005 |title=The Cultural History of Plants |publisher=Routledge |page=158 |isbn=0415927463}}</ref> Ground cardamom is an ingredient in many Indian [[curry|curries]] and is a primary contributor to the flavour of ''[[masala chai]]''. In Iran and India, cardamom is used to flavour coffee and tea.

In addition to its native range, it is grown in Nepal, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Central America. In India, the [[States and territories of India|states]] of [[Sikkim]] and [[Kerala]] are the main producers of cardamom; they rank highest both in cultivated area and in production. It was first imported into Europe around 1300 BC.

== Ecology ==
''E. cardamomum'' is used as a food plant by the larvae of the moth ''[[Endoclita hosei]]''.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Managing Natural Resources for Sustaining Future Agriculture|author=Shaista Kokab and Shahid Ahmad|title=Developing Herbal Pharmaceutics in Pakistan – II: Distinctiveness of Selected Medicinal Herbs and Uses |volume =3|issue=21|year= 2011|url=https://waterinfo.net.pk/sites/default/files/knowledge/Developing%20Herbal%20Pharmaceutics%20in%20Pakistan%20%E2%80%93%20II%20-%20Distinctiveness%20of%20Selected%20Medicinal%20Herbs%20and%20Uses.pdf}}</ref>

==Varieties==
[[File:Cardamom plant.jpg|thumb|Cardamom plant]]
The three natural varieties of green cardamom plants are:
* Malabar (Nadan/native), as the name suggests, is the native variety of [[Kerala]]. These plants have floral [[racemes]] (which bear the pods) that grow horizontally along the ground.
* Mysore, as the name suggests, is a native variety of [[Karnataka]]. These plants have floral [[raceme]]s which grow vertically upwards. The Mysore variety has declined, however, in the past few decades owing to the emergence of the more resistant and better-yielding 'Green Gold' variety, and which is the most common form of cardamom harvested in Kerala.
* Vazhuka is a naturally occurring hybrid between Malabar and Mysore varieties, and the [[panicle]]s grow neither vertically nor horizontally, but in between.

Recently, a few planters isolated high-yielding plants and started multiplying them on a large scale. The most popular high-yielding variety is 'Njallani', which is a unique high-yielding cardamom variety developed by an Indian farmer, Sebastian Joseph, at [[Kattappana]] in the South Indian state of Kerala.<ref>[http://www.rediff.com/money/2007/may/30farm.htm Unsung Hero: Tale of an ingenious farmer], www.rediff.com, 30 May 2007.</ref><ref>{{citation | url=http://www.nif.org.in/new_cardamom | title= New cardamom variety – Njallani |work= National Innovation Foundation | publisher= Department of Science and Technology | location=Idukki, Kerala, India}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url= http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2002/07/06/stories/2002070600191100.htm |title= Poor rainfall may hit cardamom crop | periodical= The Hindu Business Line | date=6 July 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title= Cardamom: Scientists, Njallani developers fight | publisher= CommodityOnline| date= 8 January 2008 |url= http://www.commodityonline.com/commodities/spices/newsdetails.php?id=4634 }}</ref> K. J. Baby of [[Idukki District]], Kerala, has developed a purely white-flowered variety of Vazhuka type green cardamom having higher yield than 'Njallani'. The variety has high adaptability to different shade conditions and can also be grown in waterlogged areas.<ref>{{citation|url=http://nif.org.in/awards/pdf_file/kj_baby.pdf |title=White Flowered Cardamom Variety |work=Fourth National Technological Innovations & Traditional Knowledge Awards |publisher=National Innovation Foundation, Department of Science and Technology |location=India |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517111735/http://nif.org.in/awards/pdf_file/kj_baby.pdf |archive-date=2013-05-17 }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
[[File:Flower CardamomP1030443.JPG|thumb|Cardamom Flower]]

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Elettaria cardamomum}}
* {{Wikispecies-inline}}
* [http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Elettaria.html University of Melbourne: Sorting ''Elettaria'' names]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q33466}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Alpinioideae]]
[[Category:Spices]]
[[Category:Flora of India (region)]]
[[Category:Plants described in 1753]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]
[[Category:Medicinal plants of Asia]]

Elettaria cardamomum - Revision history

>Citation bot at 21:47, 29 June 2021