Cardamom
Family Zingiberaceae
Elettaria cardamomum, cardamom (E. cardamomum 1), is a herbaceous perennial, native to India and Sri Lanka, up to 2 m tall, with branched rhizomes, from which arise leafy shoots in a thick clump. Leaves with a short petiole and lanceolate lamina. The inflorescence arises from the rootstock, about 1 m long, with 2-3 irregular flowers in the axil of each bract. Flowers about 4 cm long, with green tubular calyx and pale green corolla. The fruit is a capsule, containing 15-20 dark brown aromatic seeds.
Use
The dried fruits (E. cardamomum 2) (E. cardamomum 3) are used as a spice. In India they are also used for flavouring curries, bread and cakes; in the Middle East for flavouring coffee, and in Scandinavia they are widely used in confectionery. A volatile oil extracted from cardamoms is used in perfumery and for flavouring liqueurs.
India is the largest producer and exporter; the Arab countries, the US, Britain, Sweden and Germany are the principal importing countries.