Grains of paradise

For the album by Erik Friedlander, see Grains of Paradise (album).
"Guinea grains" redirects here. For Guinea pepper, see Grains of Selim. For Guinea cubeb pepper, see Ashanti pepper.
"Melegueta pepper" redirects here. For the similarly named chili pepper, see Malagueta pepper.

Grains of paradise
Aframomum melegueta
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Zingiberales
Family: Zingiberaceae
Genus: Aframomum
Species:
A. melegueta
Binomial name
Aframomum melegueta
Synonyms
  • Amomum melegueta

Grains of paradise (Aframomum melegueta) is a species in the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, and closely related to cardamom. Its seeds are used as a spice (ground or whole); it imparts a pungent, black-pepper-like flavor with hints of citrus. It is also known as melegueta pepper, Guinea grains, ossame, or fom wisa, and is sometimes confused with alligator pepper. The terms African pepper and Guinea pepper have also been used, but are ambiguous as they can apply to other spices such as grains of Selim (Xylopia aethiopica).

It is native to West Africa, which is sometimes named the Pepper Coast (or Grain Coast) because of this commodity. It is also an important cash crop in the Basketo district of southern Ethiopia.[1][2]

  1. ^ "Southern Nations Nationalities and People’s Region (SNNPR) Livelihood Profiles: Regional Overview" Archived 16 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, FEWS Net (January 2005), p. 27 (accessed 18 May 2009)
  2. ^ Tchatchouang, S.; Beng, V. P.; Kuete, V. (1 January 2017), Kuete, Victor (ed.), "Chapter 11 - Antiemetic African Medicinal Spices and Vegetables", Medicinal Spices and Vegetables from Africa, Academic Press, pp. 299–313, ISBN 978-0-12-809286-6, retrieved 2 March 2021