''Amomum'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae excl ...

s native to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

, the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, In ...

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torres ...

, and

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> It includes several species of

cardamom Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera '' Elettaria'' and '' Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia. They ar ...

, especially

black cardamom ''Amomum subulatum'', also known as Black cardamom, hill cardamom, Bengal cardamom, greater cardamom, Indian cardamom, Nepal cardamom, winged cardamom, big cardamon, or brown cardamom, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Zingiberaceae. ...

. Plants of this genus are remarkable for their pungency and aromatic properties. Among ancient writers, the name ''amomum'' was ascribed to various odoriferous plants that cannot be positively identified today. The word derives from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

''amomum'', which is the latinisation of the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

ἄμωμον (''amomon''), a kind of an Indian spice plant.ἄμωμον
Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', on Perseus Digital Library Edmund Roberts noted on his 1834 trip to China that ''amomum'' was used as a spice to "season sweet dishes" in culinary practice.

Selected species

''See List of ''Amomum'' species for a complete list.'' The following have further information: *''

Amomum exertum ''Amomum exertum'' is a species in the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. It was first described by Benedetto ScortechiniJ.D.Hooker, 1892 ''In: Fl. Brit. India 6: 251'' and renamed by Skornick. & Hlavatá. References External links * Alpini ...

'' *''

Amomum smithiae ''Amomum smithiae'' is a monocotyledonous plant species originally described by Yee Kiew KamY.K.Kam, 1982 ''In: Notes Roy. Bot. Gard. Edinburgh 40: 148'' as '' Elettariopsis smithiae'' in the family Zingiberaceae. No subspecies are listed in th ...

'' *''

Amomum subulatum ''Amomum subulatum'', also known as Black cardamom, hill cardamom, Bengal cardamom, greater cardamom, Indian cardamom, Nepal cardamom, winged cardamom, big cardamon, or brown cardamom, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Zingiberaceae ...

'' (black cardamom) - type species

Placed elsewhere

The following species are now placed in other genera: *'' Amomum compactum'' is '' Alpinia nutans'' *''

Amomum costatum ''Hornstedtia costata'' is a ginger-like plant (member of the family Zingiberaceae) native to Bangladesh, Assam, Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh. Previously this species has been placed in the genera ''Alpinia'' and ''Amomum ''Amomum'' is a genus ...

'' is ''

Hornstedtia costata ''Hornstedtia costata'' is a ginger-like plant (member of the family Zingiberaceae) native to Bangladesh, Assam, Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh. Previously this species has been placed in the genera ''Alpinia'' and ''Amomum ''Amomum'' is a genus ...

'' (Roxb.) K.Schum. *''

Amomum dallachyi ''Amomum dallachyi'', commonly known as green ginger, is a plant in the ginger family that is native to Queensland, Australia. References dallachyi Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller {{Zingiberales-stub ...

'' is a synonym of ''

Meistera ''Meistera'' is an Asian genus of plants in the family Zingiberaceae. Species have been recorded from Tropical & Subtropical Asia to northern Queensland. Species ''Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online d ...

dallachyi'' (F.Muell.) Skornick. & M.F.Newman *''

Amomum epiphyticum ''Epiamomum epiphyticum''Hugo de Boer, Mark Newman, Axel Dalberg Poulsen, A. Jane Droop, Tomáš Fér, Lê Thị Thu Hiền, Kristýna Hlavatá, Vichith Lamxay, James E. Richardson, Karin Steffen & Jana Leong-Škorničková, 2018Convergent morpho ...

'' R.M.Sm. is a synonym of ''

Epiamomum ''Epiamomum'' is a genus of plants in the family Zingiberaceae and tribe Alpinieae; all records to date are from Borneo island. Before 2018, some species were placed in the genus ''Amomum ''Amomum'' is a genus of plants native to China, the ...

epiphyticum'' (R.M.Sm.) A.D.Poulsen & Skornick. *'' Amomum filiforme'' is '' Hedychium coronarium'' *'' Amomum pulchellum'' is '' Cyphostigma'' (monotypic) *''

Amomum tsao-ko ''Lanxangia tsaoko'', formerly ''Amomum tsao-ko'', is a ginger-like plant known in English by the transliterated Chinese name (). It grows at high altitudes in Yunnan, as well as the northern highlands of Vietnam. Both wild and cultivated plants ...

'' is '' Lanxangia tsaoko'' * ''

Elettaria cardamomum ''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 called cardamom. It is cul ...

'' (L.) Maton is: '' Amomum ensal'', '' Amomum repens'', '' Amomum repens'' & '' Amomum uncinatum'' *'' Amomum mioga'' is '' Zingiber mioga'' *'' Amomum melegueta'' is ''

Aframomum melegueta ''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 commonl ...

'' *'' Amomum zambesiacum'' is ''

Aframomum zambesiacum ''Aframomum zambesiacum'' is a species in the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. Its common name is nangawo. It is native to Kimalila, part of the southern highlands in Tanzania. ''A. zambesiacum'' grows in upland and secondary forests, often nea ...

'' Now be placed in the reconstituted genus ''

Wurfbainia ''Wurfbainia''Giseke PD (1792) ''Prael. Ord. Nat. Pl.'' 199, 206. is an Asian genus of plants in the family Zingiberaceae. Species have been recorded from the Himalayas, S. China, Indo-China and W. & Central Malesia. It has previously been plac ...

'': *'' Amomum elegans'' * '' Wurfbainia uliginosa'' is: '' Amomum uliginosum'', '' Amomum robustum'' & '' Amomum ovoideum'' *''

Amomum villosum ''Wurfbainia villosa'', also known by its basionym ''Amomum villosum'', (Chinese: (Chinese: 砂仁; pinyin: shārén) is a plant in the ginger family that is grown throughout Southeast Asia and in South China. Similar to cardamom, the plant is c ...

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q133225 Zingiberaceae genera

Selected species

Placed elsewhere

See also

References

External links