663 



I 



Elettaria, Maton. 



Elettaria Cardamomum, Maton, in Trans. Linn. Soc, x. (1808) 

 J). 254. 



Perennial rootstock with leafy stems, upwards of 9 ft. high. 

 Leaves sheathing, the blade lanceolate-acuminate, glabrous or 

 nearly so above and below, dark-green, 1-3 ft. long, 3-6 in. 

 wide. Inflorescence a raceme on slender stems 2-3 ft. long, 

 arising from the rootstock. Flowers 2 or 3 in each raceme • 



F 



corolla lobes pale green, lip white, with dark hnes. Fruit globose 

 or ovoid; seeds 5-7, aromatic, 



/ZZ.— Plenck, Ic. t.3 {Amomum Cardamomum) ; Roxb. PI. Corom. 

 t. 226 {Alpinia Cardamomum)', Trans. Linn. Soc. x. (1808) tt. 4, 

 5; AVoodville, Med. Bot. iv. t. 251 {Amomum repens); Berg 

 & Schmidt, Darst. Beschr. Pharm. iv. t. 34c; Bentl. & Trimen, 

 Med. PL t. 267; Kohler, Med. Pflan. ; Zippel, Ausl. Handels 

 Nahrpfl. t. 10; Journ. Roy. Hort. Soc. xxxv. (1909-10) p. 380. 



VerTiac. names. — Ensal, Enasal (Ceylon, Ridley) Kapidaga 

 (MdXdoY , Ridley) \ Elettari (India, Watt), — Cardamoms, The Lesser 

 Cardamom, The Malabar Cardamom. 



Fnxits imported as a spice for use in medicine and perfumery. 

 The United Kingdom usually takes first place in the receiving 

 countries of the exports from India — shipped from Bombay and 

 Madras from whence an average of more than 100,000 lb. come 

 annually (see Watt. Comm. Prod. Ind. p. 517) and large 

 quantities are imported from Ceylon — 168,216 lb. in 1913 (Perf. 

 & Ess. Oil Rec. June 9th, 1914, p. 192); they are known in the 

 trade according to their size as '' shorts," '' short longs " or 

 according to locality from whence derived as Malabar, Madras 

 and Ceylon J — those from Ceylon are usually considered the best. 

 The Malabar Cardamom is the source of the seeds official in the 

 British and other Pharmacopoeias; but the Cardamom oil of 

 commerce is distilled almost exclusively from the long cardamom 



growing wild and cultivated in Ceylon (Perf. & Ess. Oil Rec. 

 i.e. p. 201). 



The cultivation is of importance in India and Ceylon. 

 A tropical climate, good rainfall (upwards of 100 in.), light soil 

 ricli in humus or rich loamy soil in moist situations, such a-s 

 edges of streams or low-lying ground — well-drained — and Ught 

 shade are essential conditions. Those suitable for " Betel Palm 

 {Areca CafecJiii) and " Pepper '' {Piper nigrum) are recommended. 

 May be propagated by seeds or rhizomes raised in nursery beds ; 

 the seed may take 1-3 months to germinate and planted odt 

 when large enough to handle, 4-6 in. high or stronger plants 

 that have been kept growing by transplanting in the nursery 

 until upwards of 4 ft. high or about 12-18 months old. Watt 

 recommends for permanent places 6-12 ft. apart, planted at the 

 top of well-prepared holes. A full crop is obtained in about 

 5 years, the plants meantime yielding a Httle after about 2 years ; 

 the fruits take from 5-6 months irom the time of floweiing to 

 ripen, and picking may go on more or less for the greater part 



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