ON THE CEYLON CARDAMOM. 
19 
are Alpinia Jillughas, Galanga, nutans, sericea, calcar- 
ata, Cardamomum, and Grant* m Paradisi. Of these, 
the two latter alone have any reference to the subject of this 
paper. His notices of them, excluding the Singhalese cha- 
racters, are as follows : 
2/ Alpinia Cardamomum, Roxb. Amomum repens, Willd. Cardamom, 
Kardumungu, Portug. Rata-ensal, Singhalese. Seeds esculent. Roxb. Cor. 
3, t. 226. Kandy; cultivated. Rich mixed soil. 
V Alpinia Granum Paradisi. Amomum Granum Paradisi, Willd. Ensal, 
Singhalese. Seeds esculent. Rheed. Malab. 11 t. 6. Kandy; cultivated. 
Rich mixed soil. 
Moon's statement, that the Grain of Paradise plant was 
cultivated at Kandy, greatly surprised me, for I had previ- 
ously ascertained that Grains of Paradise were not exported 
from Ceylon, and it appeared to me highly improbable that 
they'should be wholly consumed in the island. Moreover, the 
omission of all notice of the plant yielding the Ceylon Car- 
damom (for it is well known that the Jilpinia Cardamo- 
mum of Roxburgh is the Malabar Cardamom,) appeared to 
me most remarkable, and I concluded that there was some 
error in the names of the plants above referred to. It oc- 
curred to me that possibly the Alpinia Granum paradisi 
of Moon might, perhaps, be the Ceylon Cardamom. This 
notion was somewhat supported by the statement of Her- 
mann,* that " Ensal" (the native name of Moon's Alpinia 
Granum paradisi) was the Singhalese name of Cardamom. 
Moreover, Gsertnert has figured the Ceylon Cardamom as 
the fruit called, by both Hermann and Burmann ; 4 Ensal. 
I may observe, however, that the latter part of Gaertner's 
statement is not correct ; for Burmann distinctly says that 
Ensal is the " Cardamomum minus et vulgare" of Clusius,§ 
* Musaeum Zeylanicum, p. 66. Ed. 2d. Lugd. Bat. 1726. 
f De fructibus et seminibus plantarum. 
\ Thesaurus Zeylanicus, p. 54. Atnstelsed. 1737* 
§ Aromat. Hist., lib. i., cap. 24. 
