104 



SOME RARE KINDS OF CARDAMOM. 



Cardamom. 



1853. Cardamome noir de Gaertner. Gnibourt, Hist, des Drogues ,&& 



Bitter-lceded 4, tome ii. (1849), p. 214. 



Black Cardamom. Pereira, Elem. of Mat. Med., ed. 3, vol. ii. 

 (1850), p. 1140, fig. 259. 



Cardamoma nigra ; Schwarze Kardamomen. Martiny, En- 

 cycklopadie der Med. Pharm. Naturalien und Rohwaarerikunde, 

 Bd. ii. (1854), p. 775. 



Cardamome d Semences ambres. Guibourt MS. 



Yih-che-tsze. 



Very little is known of the origin of this Cardamom. By 

 Professor Guibourt, who first described it, it was doubtfully 

 referred to the Zingiber nigrum of Gaertner, a plant identical 

 with Alpinia Allughas of Koscoe, but as Dr. Pereira has 



Figured 

 in the 

 Chinese 

 Herbal 



M.I 



t 



Fio. 8. Bitter-$eeded Cardamom (fruits and seeds). 



pointed out 1 (and I can confirm his statement), it is totally 

 different from the fruit of that species. In the Pun-tsaou-Tcang- 

 muh, a celebrated Chinese herbal, there is a rude figure of the 

 plant, which is stated to be indigenous to the island of Hai- 

 nan. The MS. catalogue of the collection of Chinese drugs at 

 the Koyal College of Physicians of London, mention the pro- 

 vince of Kwantung as its place of growth. It is probable that 

 both statements are correct. 



For a specimen of this Cardamom as met with in the drug- 

 shops of China, I am indebted to the kindness of my friend 

 1 Elem. oj Mat. Med., ed. 3, vol. ii., p. 1140. 



