Common Name: Cardamom

General Information

Cardamom is a robust perennial plant growing in a thick clump up to 5 metres tall.
One of the world's oldest spices - cardamom was used extensively in ancient Egypt as a perfume and has been grown in India for thousands of years for its medicinal and culinary uses[, ]. Its cultivation has spread from there to many parts of the tropics, and it is now commonly used in many regions of the world[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

E. Asia - India.

Habitat

Cardamom is a plant of the early succession stage and appears in natural or man-made forest clearings but is not found in forests with an undisturbed canopy. On sloping land it may grow well in pockets of soil among boulders[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Perennial
Height	3.00 m
Pollinators	Bees, ants
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Cultivated

Cultivation Details

A plant of the moister tropics, it is usually cultivated at an elevation of 600 - 1,500 metres[]. A uniformly distributed rainfall of 2,500 - 3,800mm per year is considered optimal, though the plant can tolerate from 1,500 - 5,800 mm[]. Months with less than 125 mm rainfall have to be regarded as drought months[]. Optimum annual mean temperatures are considered to be around 22°c[]. The diurnal temperature may vary between 10 - 35°c[]. In the lowlands, where the annual mean temperatures are above 24°c, cardamom only propagates vegetatively; the plants do not grow where annual mean temperatures are below 17°c[].
Grows best in a rich, moist, well-drained soil in partial shade[]. Cardamom does not tolerate prolonged exposure to direct sunlight; about 50% is thought to be optimal[]. Evergreen montane forest land supplies the most favourable environment for cardamom, with soils varying from deep forest loam to white quartz gravel with only a shallow zone of humus accumulation[]. Plants are intolerant of drought, failing to produce seed if short of water when forming the inflorescence or flowering, and often dying if there are 2 drought years in a row[].
Cardamom comes into bearing about 3 years after planting out, which may be 4 - 5 years after sowing[].
Plants can produce economic quantities of fruit for 10 - 15 years[].
Flowers are self-sterile, therefore it is necessary to plant a mixture of clones[].
Flowering may occur throughout the year. The flowers open from the base of the panicle upwards over a long period, sometimes even more than one year[]. Flower buds require about 30 days from initiation to full bloom, capsule development takes a further 110 days[].
After the panicles have flowered, fruited and died, the vegetative shoots bearing them also die off[].

Edible Uses

The aromatic fruit and seeds are much used as a spice in a range of dishes. The spice is used in the form of the whole fruit, the decorticated seeds, or the ground seeds[]. It plays an important role in a variety of spiced rice, vegetable and meat dishes, is used to flavour coffee and tea and is an important ingredient of curries[]. In the food and beverage industry it is used for flavouring confectionery, a range of baked goods, prepared savoury dishes, and a range of beverages[]. Locally, it is used as a masticatory, often included in the betel quid, and industrially it is used to a small extent in flavouring tobacco[].

Cardamom essential oil, which is extracted from the fruit, is mainly used in the flavouring of processed foods, but also in certain beverages such as cordials, bitters and liqueurs[].
Cardamom oleoresin, which is also obtained from the fruit, has similar applications to the essential oil but is used less extensively[].
Both the oil and oleoresin tend to develop off-flavours when exposed to the air for prolonged periods, so their use is generally confined to meat products with a short shelf-life, such as sausages[].

The young shoots can be eaten raw, steamed or roasted[].

The leaves are used to wrap other foods whilst cooking[].

Medicinal

The seeds, and an essential oil obtained from them, are a pungent, warm, aromatic herb that has stimulating, tonic effects, especially on the lungs and kidneys[]. It relaxes spasms, is expectorant and improves digestion[]. It reputedly detoxifies caffeine and counteracts mucus-forming foods such as dairy products[]. It has a long-lasting reputation as an aphrodisiac[].
The seed is taken internally in the treatment of indigestion, nausea, vomiting, enuresis and pulmonary diseases with copious phlegm[].
It is used in Ayurvedic medicine to treat bronchial and digestive complaints[].
The seed is chewed after meals in order to sweeten the breath[, ]. When taken with garlic, it helps to neutralize the garlic aroma[].
When used as a tincture, this herb is subject to legal restrictions in some countries[].
The fruits are harvested in the dry season and dried whole[]. The seeds are removed for oil extraction or to use medicinally in liquid extracts, powders etc[].

The ground rhizomes are used to treat colds[].

Other Uses

The essential oil obtained from the seeds is an important ingredient in perfumery[]. An ingredient of certain types of Eau de Cologne[].

Propagation

Seed - usually germinate 5 - 7 weeks after sowing, but germination is irregular and may continue for up to one year[].
Division

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