19 JEKMINALIA PROCERA.
Tl,i. very ol»„„l„gsp«ie. is . n.dve . f .1.. And, i«n W»„<l..
wheiE it ffTOWs IO be a tree of the first iirttgiiitiitle. From tlienee it
„as itttretkteeJ, »1.1. ...«)• o.l.er valtt.tble ph.rts, into ti.e Bo.,.ie
Ga.cle., . . Gaietta, i>y Coi. Kyi in i IIH, ami now, I SOS, lire tree
is about 30 feet iiiji., v.i.l. a sien.ier, pe.fee.i, itraiji.t. smooth
tronic. anti ¡evert.i ver.ieiis, ot l.oriiontai brat.ehes, iv.tl. b.Farieus
'ai.er..a.e b.anci.lets, l'iorverìng lims, in Dengai, tire .no..th
ei-Marei. ; fr..it ripe in,|uiy. It, ieaves, a.inTertni.vali.Catappi,
tirop about tlie i>egin.,ing of winter, in Bcngai, anti appear with
li,e iiowers in Mareh.
22S. MIMOSA SUNDRA.
Arboreous- Eeirk tiari: brown. Prichie. iprrl.ry.
(iecurrent base. Lcatics bipin..ate
i,vem>' pair each. Spikes axillar)-
cal. Slanms inoiiadel|)lii
or thrce-scecied.
Sandra of iheTelingas.
Trunk smlghi, Bark fiark
Brnvclu', ereci, txviggy.
T/ioms siipuhiry, sliort, reci
their base large, and ci
bark.
Lcavci bii
Legumes lanceolate, ihiu
vate, remarkably strong and sbai
sLdcnibly extended down upoii
four
of i
pair,abou,
and oficn
pair ol'pinns, ai
Spikes axillary, gene:
pediincled, slior
FihmmU numerous, t
Legmu lanceolato, mi
Seeds wo or three.
or five inchcslong. K«!«ras faras twentyn
inch long- Lcujltis abom twenty pair, mi-
•velled inc.. various Fi.inis by the perforations
ibilicate. obh.ng -toii/just below the lower
:1 another between the exterior pair,
illy single, or paired, cylindrical, shorter
than the leaves, yellow,
nited ac the base
QOOth.
A small straight tree oF the forests and i of
Coromandel.
The wood of this small tree is remarkably hard and heavy ; of
»very deep chocolate colour ; the natives make pestles of it, to
beat offtl.e husk of paddy in large wooden mortars.
226. AMO^rUM CARDAMOMUM.
Scapes radical, on the side of t
pïocumbcnt.
impound, flcxuose.
Amomt im cardamomum, Lim- spec, plant.
Amomi im racemosum. Lamarck, encyclop. i.p. 15'
Amomi .im repens, LÍ7m. spcc. edit. mild. I.p.
Elettari . Rhrcd.mat. ìì.p. 9. lab. 4, W !
Cardara omum minus. Pharmacop. Land, and Edinb.
Ailura- chedy, of the Tamuls (of the Malabz ir coast),
Ela, on e of its many Sancrit names.
Ellalchi, of the Bengalese.
E-la-ey-chee, of the Hindoos,
E b i l . o f t h e Arabians.
Kakelch, of the Persians.
iioo/tuberous, with numerous fleshy fibres.
perennial, erect, smooth, jointed, enveloped in the spongy
sheaths of the leaves; from six to nine Icet higli.
Leaves hilarious, snbsessile on their sheaths, lanceolate, finepointed,
somewhat villous above, and sericeous underneath,
entire ; length from one to two feet.
SkeaUis slightly villous, with a rounded stipulary process rising
above the mouth.
Scapes several {three or four) from the base of the stems, resting
on the ground, fiexuose, jointed, ramous, from one to two feet
long.
Branches, or Racemes alternate, one from each joint of the scape,
suberect, two or three inches long.
Bracks solitary, oblong, smooth, membranaceous, nerved, sheathing
; one to each joint of the scape, which embraces the insertion
of the raceme, or branch, issuing therefrom, and one
at each of their joints.
Flavers alternate, short-pediccled. solitary at each Joint of the
racemes, opening in succession as the racemes lengthen.
Calyx above, widening to the three-toothed mouth, about threequarters
of an inch long, striated with fine nerves, permanent.
Carol withering. Tube slender, as long as the calyx. .Bwrfcr double.
ExUrlor of three oblong, concave, nearly ecjual, pale greenishwhite
divisions. Inner obovatc, greatly longer than the
divisions of the exterior border ; margins some-what curled,
with apex slightly three-lobed ; marked, chiefly in the
centre, with purpled-coloured stripes ; at each side of the
insertion, close by the base of the filament, a small acutc
hornkt, as in several of our Indian amomums.
Filaments short, erect. Anther two-lobed, emarginatc.
G^m beneath, oval, smooth. Style slender. Stigiva funnelshaped.
Xectarial scales subulate, almost half the length of the tube of the
Capsule oval, somewhat three-sided, ;
ihrce-celled. three-valved. Seeds i
of a nail nutmef
lulai-.
A native of the mountainous parts of the coast of Malabar.
Flowering-time the rainy season; seed (the real cardamom) ripe,
and gathered in November.
The following satisfactory account ol this interesting plant, has
lately been transmitted to me. by Captain D.ckenson, the commanding
officer of the district of Wynaad, where the Cardamom
iscuUivated. viz.
" Ti.e Cardamom shrub, which is found in great abundance
among the western mountains of Wynaad, is called by the Ma-
" labars, Ailum-chedy, (the Ailum shrub); I cannot obtain any
" satisfactory derivation of the true import of the word Ailum,
" unless, as is allc.lged, it implies in the Sanscrit language, cele-
" The .shrub is said to be produced as fol lowsBe for e the
" commencement of the periodical rains in June, the cultivators
•• of the Cardamom ascend the coldest, and most shady sides of a
21 AMOMUM CARDAMOMUM. AMOMLH CARDAMOMUM. 22
iutain. A free of uncommon size and weight is
" then sought after ; the adjacent spot is cleared of weeds, and
" the tree lelled close at its root. The earth, shaken and loosened
" by the force of the fallen tree, shoots forth young cardamoms in
about a month's time. I have repeatedly enquired of the
" natives, the means by which the caitlamoms are first produced,
" and have invariably been told as already staled. They attribute
" no other ciFccis to the tree, (which may be selected from any
" species,) than such as are derived from its weight and strength,
" added to the shade and shelter which its branches afford to the
" young sprouts. I have heard it by some asserted, that the
"Cardamom, like the fabled phtenix, would emerge from the
" ashes of any large forest tree ; but these stories were uttered
" only by the ignorant, and are too absurd to require comment.
" The shrub continues to grow in this manner until after the
" early rains of the fourth year iti February, when it has rcached
•• its titmost heigl.t, which varies from six to nine feet; four or
" five tendrils are now .seen to spring from its stem near the root,
and afterwards is produced the fruit, which is gathered the
" following November, and reqtjires no other preparation than
drying in the sun. The fruit is annually collected in this way
" until the seventh year, when it is usual to cut it down, and from
" the trunk other sprouts arise in the course of the next monsoon,
•• which grow, flourish, and are cultivated as before. The husk
" with the seed I have called the fruit, as it corresponds with
" the native name. The seeds are termed the rice, and the ten-
"drils the threads of the plant.
" I do not hear of any varieties in the specie. It may be
not unnecessary to mention, that tins commodity yidds to
"government from 2 5 to ,'30,000 rupees per annum. The
" inliabitants use it as a general condinn-nt to their food ; and
" it is likewise held in'sacreJ estimation for the purposes of
sacrifice. It is constantly chewed with beetle ; and some medi-
" cinal properties are ascribed to it when us.-d in decoction for
" complaints in the bowels. I am assured by all, tliat the seeds
" of the Cardamom will never produce any thing, and it is only
" to be propagated as already stated, or by cuttings."
lanceolate at top ; entire and smooth on both sides, point
long and very fine ; length from six to twelve inches.
Spikes radical, .sessile, oblong, appearing amongst the stems, half
immersed in the earth, loosely imbricated, with one-flowered,
ovate, acute, villous, nervous, scariose, ash-coloured bractes;
when old their brittle tops are often broken off,
Bractes. besides the exterior, one-Qovvered ones, just mentioned ;
there is an inner, striated, downy, scariose, two-toothed,
tubular one, which I have sometimes considered an exterior
calyx; and which Ktenig sometimes calls an involucre,
inserted round the base of the germ.
Flowers opening in succes.sion, and not very conspicuous.
PeriatUh above, clavate, tubul.ir, downy, three-toothed, length of
the tube of the corol.
Cord: rube slender, and slightly incurved. Exterior borderof 3,
subeqiial, pellucid divisions, one rather longer than
the exterior three, greatly broader, somewhat ihree lobed,
with crenate. curled margin : middle lobe yellow, with
two rosy lines leading up on each side, from the mouth of
the tube,
F,lament scarce half so long as the border of the corol, incurved
over the mouth of the tube, A slender subulate horn on
each side of the base of the filament, and nearly its length,
Anther large, fleshy, with large, three-lobed, concavc apex, over
which appears the large, infundibuliform stigma, rising
through the deep groove, between the two polliniferous lobes.
Germ beneath, downy, and crowned (within the base of the tube
of the corol.) with the two neclarial scales •, here they arc
short, broad, and truncated.
The seeds prove to the taste agreeably aromatic, : (fed
by the Mal.iys as a substitute for the real cardamom of Malabar.
The whole plant possesses an agreeable fragrant spicy smell,
OBSERVATIONS.
A native of Sumatra and Malay Islands to the eastwai-d of the
Bayof Betjgal; and sent by Dr, Charles Campbell from Bencoolen
to the Bot Jen at Calcutta, where it blossoms in April,
227. AMOMUM CARDAMOMUM.
Leaves short petiol'd, lanceolar. S¡)ikes even with the earth, lax.
Bractes lanceolate, acutc. Lip, with anterior margin 3-iobed,
Crest 3-lobed,
Amomum cardamomum. Linn. spec. edit. Willd. I. p. •&. Ro.xb. in
Àsini, resear. i I. /;, 343.
Amomum cardamomum. Kanig in Relz. obs. 3. p. 59.
Caid.imomum minus, Rumpk. a/nb. 5. 63./. 1.
DESCRIPTION,
Root perennial, creeping under the surface of the soil, like that of
ginger, but smaller, less fleshy, more ligneous and white,
from which dc.scend, and spread many fleshy fibres.
Stems herbaceous, several, rising obliquely to the height of from
two to four feet, and about as thick as a stout ratan, invested
in the smooth deep green sheaths of the leaves.
Leavr.^ alternate, bifarious, short petiolcd on dieir smooth, stemchsping
sheaths, from broad-lanceolate below, to narrow-
G L O B 15 A .
GENERIC CHARACTER.
Corolla with interior border two-lobed, or none. Filament very
long, curved ; ha.se tubular, and winged, with a cuneiform
lip. Anther double (appendicled or naked). Capsule, onecelled,
three-valved. Seeds many, attached to 3 parietal
receptacles.
22S. GI.OBBA PENDULA.
Ztfiiwj lanceolate. Racemes terminal, compound, greatly longer
than the leaves. Anther bicalcarate. Roxb. in AsuU. resear.
vol. 11, p, 550.
DESCRIPTION,
;?£>r3i fibrous, perennial,
about three feet from the groimd to the highest part
of the of tl icie.
Leaves 1-inceolate, smooth, fine-pointed, about six inches long and
one and a half broad. Sheaths a little hairy on the outside.