Elettaria cardamomum

Green cardamom True cardamom
True Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) 1896 illustration
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Monocots
(unranked):	Commelinids
Order:	Zingiberales
Family:	Zingiberaceae
Genus:	Elettaria
Species:	E. cardamomum
Binomial name
Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton
Synonyms
Amomum cardamomum L. Amomum repens Sonn., illegitimate superfluous name Amomum racemosum Lam., illegitimate superfluous name Alpinia cardamomum (L.) Roxb. Cardamomum officinale Salisb. Zingiber cardamomum (L.) Stokes Matonia cardamomum (L.) Stephenson & J.M.Churchill Cardamomum verum Oken, illegitimate superfluous name Elettaria repens Baill., illegitimate superfluous name Elettaria cardamomum var. minor Watt, not validly published Cardamomum elletari Garsault, rejected name Zingiber minus Gaertn. Amomum ensal Raeusch. Amomum uncinatum Stokes Cardamomum malabaricum Pritz. Cardamomum minus (Gaertn.) Kuntze Elettaria cardamomum var. minuscula Burkill, without description

Elettaria cardamomum, commonly known as green or true cardamom, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the ginger family, native to southern India. It is the most common of the species whose seeds are used as a spice called cardamom. It is cultivated widely in tropical regions and reportedly naturalized in Réunion, Indochina and Costa Rica.

Elettaria cardamomum is a pungent aromatic herbaceous perennial plant, growing to about 2–4 m (6 ft 7 in–13 ft 1 in) in height. The leaves are alternate in two ranks, linear-lanceolate, 40–60 cm (16–24 in) long, with a long pointed tip. The flowers are white to lilac or pale violet, produced in a loose spike 30–60 cm (12–24 in) long. The fruit is a three-sided yellow-green pod 1–2 cm (0.39–0.79 in) long, containing several black and brown seeds.

The green seed pods of the plant are dried and the seeds inside the pod are used in Indian and other Asian cuisines, either whole or ground. It is the most widely cultivated species of cardamom; for other types and uses, see cardamom.

Ground cardamom is an ingredient in many Indian curries and is a primary contributor to the flavour of masala chai. In Iran, cardamom is used to flavour coffee and tea. In Turkey, it is used to flavour the black Turkish tea, kakakule in Turkish.

As well as in its native range, it is also grown in Nepal, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Central America. In India, the states of Sikkim and Kerala are the main producers of cardamom; they rank highest both in cultivated area and in production. It was first imported into Europe around 1300 BC. Cardomomum - is called CarandaMungu (කරඳමුංගු) in Sinhalese.

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Wikipedia