Cardamom

Leafy shoots of the cardamom plant arise 1.5 to 6 metres (5 to 20 feet) from the branching rootstock. Flowering shoots, approximately 1 metre (3 feet) long, may be upright or sprawling; each bears numerous flowers about 5 cm (2 inches) in diameter with greenish petals and a purple-veined white lip. The whole fruit, 0.8 to 1.5 cm, is a green three-sided oval capsule containing 15 to 20 dark, reddish brown to brownish black, hard, angular seeds. The essential oil occurs in large parenchyma cells underlying the epidermis of the seed coat. The essential oil content varies from 2 to 10 percent; its principal components are cineole and α-terpinyl acetate.