THE CEYLON ELETTAKIA.
697
Do. 131.
^ettaria. The same opinion has also been expressed by Nees anderil) aier [Hand. d. med. pharm. Bot. i. 253). Dr. Lindley, who at myL eg t examined the fruits, concurs in this view*.l8l? r *°l acc * (Agricult. Commerc. and Financ. Interests of Ceylon , p. 157,ten/ Sa )’ s the Ceylon cardamom is collected chiefly in the Candiandu ’ anc ^ tliat he w'as informed it is not indigenous, hut was iutro-^ by the Dutch. The quantity exported from 1806 to 1813 in-t'eT’ 6 varied from 4 4 to 18 candies annually. Percival ( Account ofCe 1 ^b5) states that cardamoms grow' in the south-east part of
that ° n ’ P ar ticularly in the neighbourhood of Matura. I am infonned^occasionally they come from Quillon.
Cft ksciapxioN.— The Ceylon cardamom (cardamomum zeylanicum;a fonuim medium, Matth. and Geoffr.; cardamomum majus, Bont.
and Dale; cardamomum majus vulgare, Clusius ; car-damomum majus offeinarum, C. Bauliin; cardamomumlongum, Th. Martius and Geiger; grande cardamome,Guib.) is a lanceolate-oblong capsule, acutely triangular,more or less curved, with flat and ribbed sides, about aninch and a half long and one-tliird of an inch broad.At one extremity we frequently find the long, cylin-drical, permanent, three-lobed calyx ; at the other, thefruit-stalk, which is sometimes branched. The pericarpis coriaceous, tough, brownish or yellowish ash-coloured,three-celled. The seeds are angular, rugged, have ayellowish red tinge, a fragrant and aromatic but pe-of att achea. culiar odour, and a spicy flavour. The long diameter(j e , le v itellus is parallel to that of the embryo. Dr. Lindley thinks thatlhei. e 7« Ca ^ amoms “ owe their bad quality to not being ripe when ga-yi e ] ( l • Tli. Martius (Pharmakogn.) says that 100 part of these fruits(j 1 parts of seeds, and 29 parts of pericarpial coats.anj/^^siTioN, Effects, and Uses. — Ceylon cardamoms have not been43-d. Their constituents, as well as their effects and uses, areij) er . ® Ss analogous to those of the Malabar cardamom. Their com-la va lue is about one-third that of the latter.
!:l 0n ('a
H v l<n| ter 3 ^ad corrected the proof of this sheet I received a collection of plants from
Ce );vj te
V SS ' s tai’ lt I o a< l e my much lamented friend and pupil, the late Mr. Frederick Saner,]t -4l D ; • ur ff e <>n in her Majesty’s 61st reg'. It contains three Scitamineous plants,um ca }carata , Roscoe, Elettaria Cardamomum , Maton, and Elettaria Carda-
la ,l! ? ff^ an i cum ’ Pereira; all of which appear to have been furnished by Mr. Lear,rdat J |‘ e U ! )eri,ltcil «le , it of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Ceylon . It is somewhat re-u r ’“ ' VeVer ’that d )e last-mentioned species is erroneously designated hy Mr.
(j r. f llnia (Amomum) Granumparadisi.” Doulitless the same error has been madef^alo ^ u P er ' n tendent of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Ceylon , in hisJ giv es Indigenous and Exotic Plants growing in Ceylon: Colombo , 1824. For
X- l] t is c If- as ,lle Singhalese name of “ Amomum Granum paradisi,” and says thef'"srhai:'' IUvate<1 at Candy. Now Hermann (Mus. Zeyl. 06) states that Ensal is the
fi)]j h .ii me u uc ^
n v * 1 o- • at ex traordinary that none of its seeds are brought from thence here. The^ ^ 'Ascription of the Ceylon cardamom plaut in my possession :—
(ll SK He on a" . 1 numerous fibres. Stem erect, smooth, enveloped by leaf sheaths. Leavesijf "hlo'T Tati'S, silky beneath, acuminate; the shorter ones lanceolate, the larger^^-'a’^late; breadth 2 to 3 inches, length not exceeding lo| inches.°ut half the length of the leaves, with a roundish ligula. Scape from the