ZINGIBERACEiE. 



631 



nish the astringent Mexican drug, called " Cascara de Pingue," which abounds 

 in tannin ; but such can scarcely be the case. 



Amomum. — IA?in. 



Inner limb of corolla 1-lipped. Filament dilated beyond the anther, with an entire or 

 lobed crest. Capsule often berried, 3-valved, 3-celled. Seeds numerous, arillate. 



A somewhat extensive genus of tropical herbaceous plants, with leaves in 

 two rows, and having articulated, creeping rhizomes. As established by 

 Linnaeus, it included numerous species, now distributed in other genera. 



A. grana paradisi, Linn. — Rhizome perennial, ligneous, horizontal. Stems erect, 

 simple, slender, 3 feet high, leafy. Leaves many, crowded, 2-ranked, alternate, lanceolate, 

 with a long taper point, entire, smooth, single-nerved, with numerous oblique veins. 

 Flower-stalks radical, short, ascending, with numerous sheathing bracts. Capsule ob- 

 long, ribbed, rounded triangular, beaked, coriaceous, beset with minute, deciduous, bristly 

 hairs. Seeds numerous, roundish, of a rich golden-brown colour. The flower has not 

 been satisfactorily described. 



Linn., Sp. PI. 2 ; Smith, Rees' Cyclop. ; Stephenson and Churchill, ii. 

 106 (2); Lindley, Fl. Med. 565. 



Most authors follow Afzelius in attributing Grains of Paradise or Malaguetta 

 Pepper to this plant, but Roscoe is of opinion they are the product of his A. 

 meleguetta. 



2. A. meleguetta, Roscoe. — Stem erect. Leaves 2-ranked, sub-sessile, narrow-lanceolate 

 Scape radical, surrounded at base with 



about seven imbricated ovate, pointed, 

 somewhat cuspidate bracts. Calyx cy- 

 lindrical, monosepalous, green, spotted 

 with red. Flowers cylindrical, with a 

 double limb ; outer in three segments, of 

 which the middle is the largest; inner 

 very large, pale-yellow at base, crimson 

 at the margin. Filament strong, erect, 

 clavate, three-lobed, with two spurs near 

 the base of the lip. Anther two-lobed, in 

 front of the filament. Style erect, tubu- 

 lar, expanding into a dilated stigma, 

 having at base two linear processes. Cap- 

 sule cylindrical, coriaceous. Seeds angu- 

 lar, light brown. 



Roscoe, Scitam. ; Pereira, Mat, 

 Med. ii. 157. 



Pereira (/. c.) is of opinion that 

 the seeds of at least two species 

 have been confounded in commerce 

 under the name of Grains of Para- 

 dise, and figures two capsules, one 

 of which he thinks may be from 

 A. grana paradisi (Fig. 2S6), and 

 the other possibly from A. mele- 

 guetta (Fig. 285). 



Fig. 285. 



Fig. 286. 



Capsules of Malaguetta Pepper. 

 A. meleguetta ? A. grana paradisi. 



Grains of Paradise are roundish or ovate, often angular, and somewhat 



