Green Cardamom
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''Elettaria cardamomum'', commonly known as green cardamom or true cardamom, is a
herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...
,
perennial plant In horticulture, the term perennial (''wikt:per-#Prefix, per-'' + ''wikt:-ennial#Suffix, -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annual plant, annuals and biennial plant, biennials. It has thus been d ...
in the
ginger family Zingiberaceae () or the ginger family is a family of flowering plants made up of about 50 genera with a total of about 1600 known species of aromatic perennial herbs with creeping horizontal or tuberous rhizomes distributed throughout tropical Af ...
, native to southern
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. It is the most common of the species whose seeds are used as a spice called
cardamom Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genus (biology), genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indon ...
that has a sharp, strong, punchy aroma. It is cultivated widely in tropical regions and reportedly naturalized in
Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...
,
Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to th ...
, and
Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
.


Growth

''Elettaria cardamomum'' is a pungent, aromatic, herbaceous, perennial plant, growing to about in height. The leaves are alternate in two ranks, linear-lanceolate, long, with a long pointed tip. The flowers are white to lilac or pale violet, produced in a loose spike long. The fruit is a three-sided yellow-green pod long, containing several (15-20) black and brown seeds.


Use

The green seed pods of the plant are dried and the seeds inside the pod are used in
Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...
and other
Asian cuisine Asian cuisine encompasses several significant regional cooking styles of Asia: Central Asian, East Asian, North Asian, South Asian, Southeast Asian, and West Asian. Cuisine is a distinctive way of cooking practices and customs, usually associat ...
s, either whole or ground. It is the most widely cultivated species of cardamom; for other types and uses, see
cardamom Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genus (biology), genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indon ...
. True cardamom may have been used in
Ayurveda Ayurveda (; ) is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. It is heavily practised throughout India and Nepal, where as much as 80% of the population report using ayurveda. The theory and practice of ayur ...
medicine as early as the 4th century BC. Ground cardamom is an ingredient in many Indian
curries Curry is a dish with a sauce or gravy seasoned with spices, mainly derived from the interchange of Indian cuisine with European taste in food, starting with the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch and British, and then thoroughly internation ...
and is a primary contributor to the flavour of ''
masala chai Masala chai (; ) is a popular beverage originating from South Asia. It is made by brewing black tea (usually crush, tear, curl) in milk and water, and then by sweetening with sugar. Adding aromatic herbs and spices creates masala chai. The t ...
''. In Iran and India, cardamom is used to flavour coffee and tea. Cardamom has been used medicinally in traditional practices for nausea, kidney disorders, gum infections, and cataracts. In addition to its native range, it is grown in Nepal, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Central America. In India, the
states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
of
Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...
and
Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
are the main producers of cardamom; they rank highest both in cultivated area and in production.


Biology

The primary volatile components are terpinyl acetate and
eucalyptol Eucalyptol (also called cineole) is a monoterpenoid colorless liquid, and a bicyclic ether. It has a fresh camphor-like odor and a spicy, cooling taste. It is insoluble in water, but miscible with organic solvents. Eucalyptol makes up about ...
.


Ecology

''E. cardamomum'' is used as a food plant by the larvae of the moth '' Endoclita hosei''.


Varieties

The three natural varieties of green cardamom plants are: * Malabar (Nadan/native), as the name suggests, is the native variety of
Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
. These plants have floral
racemes A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the shoo ...
(which bear the pods) that grow horizontally along the ground. * Mysore, as the name suggests, is a native variety of
Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...
. These plants have floral
raceme A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are ...
s which grow vertically upwards. The Mysore variety has declined, however, in the past few decades owing to the emergence of the more resistant and better-yielding 'Green Gold' variety, and which is the most common form of cardamom harvested in Kerala. * Vazhuka is a naturally occurring hybrid between Malabar and Mysore varieties, and the
panicle In botany, a panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a p ...
s grow neither vertically nor horizontally, but in between. Recently, a few planters isolated high-yielding plants and started multiplying them on a large scale. The most popular high-yielding variety is 'Njallani', which is a unique high-yielding cardamom variety developed by an Indian farmer, Sebastian Joseph, at
Kattappana Kattappana ( aʈ:ap:ɐna is a municipality in the Idukki district of Kerala, India. It is located 21 km (13.0 mi) southeast of the district headquarters in Painavu and about 140 km (87.0 mi) north of the state capital, Thi ...
in the South Indian state of Kerala. K. J. Baby of
Idukki District Idukki (ഇടുക്കി; ) is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala in the southwest of the country. It is the largest district in Kerala and lies amid the Cardamom Hills of Western Ghats in Kerala. Idukki district co ...
, Kerala, has developed a purely white-flowered variety of Vazhuka type green cardamom having higher yield than 'Njallani'. The variety has high adaptability to different shade conditions and can also be grown in waterlogged areas.


References


External links

* *
University of Melbourne: Sorting ''Elettaria'' names
{{Authority control Alpinioideae Spices Flora of India (region) Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Medicinal plants of Asia