AMOMUM. 



unluckily not obferved the plant or xi^p-wers, nor gathered 

 more than one capfuli, he was unable to give us any further 

 information than what thefe feeds afford. Their flavour 

 is very (lightly aromatic. Their lead-coloured hue is well 

 roticed by Gsrtner, though his figure reprefents them 

 fcarcely half large enough. The braaeas appear twice the 

 ike of the laft, to which unqueftionably this fpecies is next 

 akin. This is Jmomum, n. I. of profelTor Afzelius's MSS. 

 The natives call it Mabooboo. 



4. A. Clufii. Long-feeded Amomum. (Fruftus 14; 

 Cluf. Exot. 37, 38, with a figure. Granis Paradyfi, five 

 Mellegeta; affinis fruftus ; Bauh. Pm. 413.) — Spikes 

 capitate. Bradeas ovate, much (liorter than the fruit. 

 Capfule ovate, pointed, ftriated. Seeds cylindrical, highly 

 pohlhed, with a bordered, crenate fear.— The native country 

 of this fpecies is unknown, Clufius's fpecimen having been 

 collefted by an apothecary, who died in the courfe of his 

 voyage, and left no memorandum refpefting this point. 

 (See Mellegetta for a defcription of a fpecimen, which 

 we accidentally met with in a druggift's fliop, in a chefl of 

 Great Cardamoms, A- anguflifolium, if we miftake not, 

 and which therefore probably came from Madagafcar.) 

 The cylindrical, dark -brown, highly polifhed feeds, appear- 

 ing as if varnilhed, clearly diftinguilh it from both the 

 two laft. The fhort braffeas in Clufius's figure, unlefs the 

 upper ones had been ftripped off, afford a no lefs ftriking 

 diftinaion. The feeds had only a flight pungency from the 

 firft. Thofe of our Great, as well as Clufter, Cardamom?, 

 are as high flavoured as ever, though at leaft twenty-five 

 years old. 



5. A. Grana-Paradifi. Grains of Paradife Amomum, 

 or Mellegetta Pepper.— Spikes capitate. Brafteas ovate, 

 rather fhorter than the fruit ; lower ones crowded. Capfule 

 oblong, bluntly triangular, minutely hifpid. Seeds ovate. 

 Stipula entire, fringed. (See Mellegetta for the hiftory 

 and fynonyms of this fpecies.) The brown feeds, d!i^m- 

 guiflied by a peculiar and very hot flavour, are very different 

 from the following, and the bradcas have a (hort, thick, 

 dorfal fpine. 



6. A. grandiflorum. Large -flowered Cardamom. Sm. 

 Exot. Bot. v. 2. 103. t. HI. Ait. Epit. 363. — Spikes 

 capitate. Brafteas elliptical, fhorter than the fruit ; lower 

 ones dillant. Capfule oblong, bluntly triangular, minutely 

 hifpid. Seeds ovate. Intermediate lobe of the filament 

 entire. Stipula cloven, fmooth. — Native of Sierra Leone. 

 Seeds, brought by profeffor Afzelius, have produced flower- 

 ing plants in England. The root is perennial, woody, 

 creeping. Leafy Jlems about three feet high, eredi, round, 

 fmooth, very flender. Leaves feveral, elliptic-lanceolate, 

 long-pointed, recurved, often tinged with red, very fmooth ; 

 the long, narrow, polifhed Jheaths each crowned with a 

 fomewhat cloven, rounded Jlipula, whofe edges are quite 

 fmooth, not fringed with briflly hairs, as m A. Grana- 

 Paradifi. Floiuers-Jlalh ereft, two inches high, ftriated, 

 downy. Lower braHeas elliptical, concave, fpreading, and 

 fo far diftant that the ftalk is ufually vifible between them ; 

 upper much larger, though of a fmaller proportion than 

 thofe of our fecond or third fpecies, and not above half fo 

 long as the Jloiuer or fruit, membranous, finely ribbed, 

 fcarcely fpinous, fomewhat coloured, permanent. Floivers 

 in a fhort, denfe, capitate clufter, large and handfome, 

 whether fragrant or not we have no information, but vyhen 

 dried, and moiftened again, they are highly aromatic. 

 Calyx rofe-coloured, above an inch long, with a blunt 

 fpreading point. Outer limb of the corolla of the fame hue, 

 twice as long ; lip of a broad rounded kidney-fhape, waved, 

 plait^, crenate, flightly notched, but not divided, nor 



dseply lobed, near two inches broad, white, with a yellov^ 

 fpot at the bafc. Stamen white, not half fo long as the lip, 

 furnifhed at the bottom with two awl-fhaped divaricated 

 lobes, and at the top with two nearly horizontal ones, of 

 the fame fize and figure, having between them a central, 

 fliort, rounded, quite entire lobe. The capfule is very lik^ 

 that of Grana-Paradifi, in fize, fhape, and pubefcence. 

 The feeds are alfo fimilar in fize and fhape to that fpecies, 

 but differ in being grey or lead-coloured, much lefs polifhed, 

 and in having a totally different flavour refembling camphor, 

 which they equal in warmth and pungency. As a ftimulant, 

 or cordial, \.\\e:(e feeds appear equal to any Cardamom what- 

 ever. When the flowers of Grana-Paradiji become known, 

 which is now one of our greateft botanical defiderata, there 

 probably will be more diftinftive characters difcovered 

 between that fpecies and the prefent. 



7. A. Afzelii. Sweet-fcented Amomum. Rofc. n. 8. 

 Ait. n. I. (A. exfcapum ; Sims in Ann. of Bot. v. i. 

 548. t. 13.) — Spikes capitate, of few flowers. Brafteas 

 fhorter than the fruit. Capfule oblong, triangular. Stipula 

 fmooth ? Intermediate lobe of the filament cloven. — For 

 this alfo we are indebted to Dr. Afzelius, who brought the 

 feeds from Sierra Leone. From them Mr. Loddiges at 

 Hackney raifed plants, which flowered in his flove it. 

 June 1804, and were defcribed by Dr. Sims. The original 

 name, exfcapum, not being exaftly correft, has been changed 

 for one to which no lover of fcience or of perfonal worth 

 can objeft. The leaves are as broad as the laft, nor does 

 the herbage of thefe plants in general afford many diftinftive 

 marks. We prefume, from the figure, that ihtjfipulas are 

 fmooth. The fower-^flalk, though not wanting, is much 

 fhorter than any of the former, and there feem to be no 

 more than two external braBeas, befides fome membranous 

 ones clofe to tlic flowers, apparently lefs firm and durable 

 than ufual. The outer limb of the corolla is pale fiefh- 

 coloured. Lip rather more oblong, and plaited lower down, 

 than in the laft, crenate at the edges, white, with a yellow 

 central fpot. Stamen effentially different from A. grandi- 

 florum, in having its middle lobe in two deep acute fegments. 



What we have for the capfule of this fpecies is ovate, 

 pointed, triangular, nearly or quite fmooth, rather larger 

 than either of the two laft. Seeds obovate, dark brown, 

 highly polifhed, with a prominent -bordered fear, as in A. 

 macrofpermum and Clujii, totally unlike the two foregoing. 

 Thefe feeds have fcarcely any flavour, and are not at all 

 aromatic. The flowers are fragrant only when dried, as in 

 grandijlorum- 



8. A.. Jlrobilaeeum. Cone-bearing Amomum. — Spikescapi- 

 tate. Outer brafteas numerous, eUiptical, gradually larger 

 upwards ; floral ones fcarcely longer, membranous, ftriated, 

 rough at the extremity. Stipula abrupt, nearly fmooth. — 

 Native of Sierra Leone, from whence we were favoured 

 with a fpecimen by Dr. Afzelius. This has very flender 

 leafy Jlems. The leaves are elliptic-ovate, pointed, very 

 fmooth. Stipula rounded, fcarcely cloven, very flightly, if 

 at all, fringed. Flower-Jlalks feveral inches high, fmooth, 

 covered with numerous, imbricated, elliptical, very broad, 

 concave, fheathing braBeas, gradually larger upwards, with 

 broad dorfal points ; the Ipwermoft not quite an inch long, 

 the upper two inches ; all finely ftriated, very fmooth to 

 the touch, of a bright chefnut colour when dry. Within 

 the two uppermoft are the proper braReas, accompanying 

 the head of flowers, much narrower, hardly at all longer, 

 flatter, more membranous, hairy in the upper part, abrupt 

 with a fmall point. Of the fiotuers we know nothing, nor 

 are we certain of the fruit. The only unappropriated cap- 

 fules of any Amomum, communicated irom Sierra Leone 



6 by 



