Economic Botany Collections

Jars of cardamom pods

These are two of Dr. William Maton’s materia medica jars holding cardamom pods. Maton studied this genus so extensively that Sir James Smith, founder of the Linnean Society, called the genus Matonia. However, the name was changed by William Roxburgh and it became Alpinia cardamomum Roxb. In 1811 it changed again to Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton.

Cardamom originated in Sri Lanka, South India and South East Asia. Today it is cultivated in these locations as well as Guatemala and parts of Africa and Cuba. The fruits are mainly used for flavouring but also have medicinal purposes. In Theophilus Redwood’s A Supplement to the Pharmacopoeia of 1857, cardamom seeds are described as giving warmth for other medicines. They act as stimulants and assist digestion.

The specimens in the photo are as follows;

ZINGIBERACEAE Elettaria cardamomum. EBC 78259

ZINGIBERACEAE Amomum maximum. EBC 78256

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