CRUDE DRUGS. 



581 



CARDAMOMUM. CARDAMOM. The fruit of Elettaria 

 Cardaiiioinniii (Syn. E. re pens) (Fam. Zingiberaceae), a peren- 

 nial herb (p. 242) indigenous to Farther India, and cultivated 

 near the Malabar Coast and in Ceylon. The commercial article 

 is obtained from wild plants growing in the southern part of 

 the western coast of Farther India. The fruit is gathered in 

 autumn either the entire spike, when some of the fruits have 

 matured, or the full-grown fruits are cut from the rachis in suc- 

 cession as they ripen ; they are bleached by exposure to the sun, 



h slpajuo 



Fig. 253. Cardamom: A, transverse section showing the arillus (h), the several 

 layers of the seed-coat (T, 1, V), perisperm (i), endosperm (2) and embryo (3) at the center. 

 B, transverse section of the seed-coat and perisperm of Malabar cardamom showing epider- 

 mal cells (o), cells having a brown content (qu), cells containing ethereal oil (p), brown 

 stone cells (St) with very thick inner walls, and perisperm (e), the cells of which contain 

 numerous small starch grains and usually a pair of small crystals which may be seen on 

 treating sections with chloral. A, after Meyer; B, after Moeller. 



sometimes sulphurous acid or steam being also used, after which 

 they are dried and freed from extraneous matter. Seeds which 

 have been discharged from the capsules are inferior to those 

 which have been retained. A greater portion goes to Bombay, 

 from where it is estimated that 100,000 kilograms are exported 

 yearly to London. The commercial varieties are known as Mala- 

 bar and Mysore Cardamom. 



Malabar Cardamom. Capsule loculicidally dehiscent, 

 broadly ellipsoidal, occasionally ovoid, more or less triangular in 



