Amomum

Amomum
Amomum subulatum (black cardamom)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Zingiberales
Family: Zingiberaceae
Subfamily: Alpinioideae
Tribe: Alpinieae
Genus: Amomum
Roxb.
Species

See list of Amomum species

Synonyms[1]
  • Acinax Raf.
  • Cardamomum Rumph. ex Kuntze
  • Elettariopsis Baker
  • Geocallis Horan.
  • Paramomum S.Q.Tong
  • Torymenes Salisb.

Amomum is a genus of plants containing about 111 species native to China, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and Queensland.[1][2] It includes several species of cardamom. Plants of this genus are remarkable for their pungency and aromatic properties.[3][4]

Among ancient writers, the name amomum was ascribed to various odoriferous plants that cannot be positively identified today. The word derives from Latin amomum,[5] which is the latinisation of the Greek ἄμωμον (amomon), a kind of an Indian spice plant.[6] Edmund Roberts noted on his 1834 trip to China that amomum was used as a spice to "season sweet dishes" in culinary practice.[7]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference POWO was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Flora of China v 24 p 347, 豆蔻属 dou kou shu, Amomum Roxburgh, Pl. Coromandel. 3: 75. 1820.
  3. ^ Govaerts, R. (1995). World Checklist of Seed Plants 1(1, 2): 1-483, 1-529. MIM, Deurne.
  4. ^ Lamxay, V. & Newman, M.F. (2012). A revision of Amomum (Zingiberaceae) in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Edinburgh Journal of Botany 69: 99-206.
  5. ^ amomum, Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, on Perseus Digital Library
  6. ^ ἄμωμον, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library
  7. ^ Roberts, Edmund (1837). Embassy to the Eastern Courts of Cochin-China, Siam, and Muscat. New York: Harper & Brothers. p. 138.