Common name: Cardamom, Malabar cardamom, Ceylon cardamom • Hindi:
इलाएची Elaichi • Marathi: इलाची Elachi • Tamil: Elam Ancha • Malayalam: Elatarri • Telugu: Elaki •
Kannada: Elakki • Urdu: Elaichi الاچی •
Sanskrit: Trutih
Botanical name: Elettaria
cardamomum
Family: Zingiberaceae (Ginger
family)
Geographical distribution:- The plant is indigenous to southern India and Sri
Lanka.
Introduction: 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
calledcardamom. It is cultivated widely in tropical regions and reportedly
naturalized. Cardamom is a typical ginger-type plant except that it is huge, standing
as much as 12 ft tall. Thick, fleshy rhizomes give rise to erect shoots that
bear two rows of linear-lance-shaped leaves each about 2 ft long. The leaves
are smooth and dark green above, silky and paler beneath. They taper to an
acute point. The inflorescences develop on separate, horizontal stems that
spread along the ground. They are loose panicles about 2 ft long, consisting of
many small blossoms that have white or yellowish petals with lilac veins and
pink or yellow margins. The fruits are thin-walled, smooth-skinned, oblong,
greenish capsules about 1-2 cm long. Each contains 15-20 aromatic reddish brown
seeds. Cardamom pods are common in Indian cooking.
Chemical composition: 3-6 % volatile oil, fixed oil, salts of K, acid
resin,nitrogenous mucilage, starch, ligneous fibre, proteins, ash, Cineole,
Terpinyl, acetate, Borneol,Terpinene, Terpineol
Types: Herb
Medicinal uses: Aromatic, Carminative, Stimulant, Flavouring agent, Stomachic,
Expectorant, Digestive, Appetizer, Diaphoretic. It is used in treatment of
respiratory, disorders like asthma, bronchitis, cough, nausea, vomiting and
also in headache, diarrhoea, cold. Used as a spice in cooking
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