Amomum

Amomum
Amomum magnificum
1832 illustration
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
(unranked): Commelinids
Order: Zingiberales
Family: Zingiberaceae
Genus: Amomum
Roxb.
Synonyms[1]
  • Meistera Giseke
  • Paludana Giseke
  • Wurfbainia Giseke
  • Torymenes Salisb., without description
  • Zedoaria Raf.
  • Geocallis Horan.
  • Cardamomum Rumph. ex Kuntze
  • Conamomum Ridl.
  • Paramomum S.Q.Tong

Amomum is a genus of plant native to China, the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and Queensland.[1][2] It includes several species of cardamom, especially black 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 utilized as a spice to "season sweet dishes," in culinary practice.[7]

Selected species

See List of Amomum species for a complete list.

References

  1. 1 2 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  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.

Sources

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