Amomum testaceum Ridl. (Zingiberaceae)

Scientific name
Amomum testaceum Ridl.
Family name
Zingiberaceae
Common name
Best cardamom, Siam cardamom (English)
Local name
Krawaan
Herbaceous perennial; Stem 3 m tall; rhizome stout, white. Leaves lanceolate; apex cuspidate, glabrous; c. 60 × 10 cm. Inflorescence spike-like, cylindrical or fusiform, 7–10 cm long; peduncle c. 15 cm long. Bract papery, straw-coloured, oblong, more or less hairy. Calyx hairy, tubular, trifid. Corolla tubular, slightly longer than calyx tube, lobes linear-oblong, white, c.12 cm long. Labellum spoon-shaped, white, yellow-tipped, with 2 red lines at base. Staminodes oblong, truncate, buff-coloured. Anther short, quadrate, taller at prolonged angles; crest entire, oblong, blunt. Fruit a dehiscent capsule, 3-lobed, with elongated spike. Seeds angular, black.
Traditional medicinal use
Functionality
Functional constituents
Grows naturally under dense crowns of tall trees with thick leaf litter, at altitudes > 500 m a.s.l. Fruit is rarely set at low altitudes, where it is cultivated only for its young, edible shoots. Propagated by planting a pair of young, fully mature stems with rhizome in a shallow pit with thick mulch under 50% shade, on well drained loamy soil, with regular watering.
Young shoots and fruits can be harvested by the third year after planting. Young shoots are cooked as a vegetable in chicken curries. Fruits are used as a spice to add flavour and aroma to various dishes.
Young plants
Aerial part
Flowers