CHAPTEK X 



CARDAMOMS 



THERE are several plants of the order Scitamineae 

 which produce spices known as cardamoms, and as such 

 are, occasionally at least, known in trade. By far the 

 most important, however, is the plant known as 

 Elettaria Cardamomum, the Malabar and Ceylon carda- 

 moms, and this plant will here be discussed first, as it 

 supplies the greatest part of the cardamoms of commerce 

 and is apparently the only one ever cultivated. 



Elettaria Cardamomum, Maton. 



The Malabar or lesser cardamom is a herbaceous 

 plant belonging to the order of gingers (Scitamineae). 

 It has a tolerably thick, rather woody rhizome, from 

 which arises a number of leafy stems about 7 to 9 ft. 

 tall, forming often a thick clump. The leaves are 

 lanceolate acuminate, dark green, glabrous, or more or 

 less pubescent above and puberulous beneath, 1 to 3 ft. 

 long, and 3 to 6 in. across, sheathing at the base, and 

 villous at the top of the sheath. The flowering stems 

 rise from the root-stock or rhizome, and are 2 or 3 ft. 

 long, slender with rather large green bracts, and 

 numerous flowers in short 2 to 3 - flowered racemes. 

 They open singly or two or more at a time, and are 

 rather attractive. The calyx tube is green and 1^ in. 

 long, and the corolla lobes, narrow and spreading, are 

 pale green, ^ in. long ; the lip is f in. long, obovate, 



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