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| Home > Spice Farming > Lesser Cardamom
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| | Lesser Cardamom Spice Farming
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 The "Queen of Spices", Cardamom, enjoys a unique position in the international spices market, as one of the most sought after spices. India is known as the home of cardamom from time immemorial. Cardamom is indigenous to the evergreen forests of Western Ghats in South India. India was the main producer and exporter of this commodity till recently.
Types of Cardamom
Two varieties of cardamom plants are identified, and they are Elettaria cardamomum maton, variety major comprised of wild indigenous types of Sri Lanka and "Elettaria "cardamomum Maton,-variety, minor comprising of cultivars like, Mysore, Malabar and Vazhukka. These types are grown in different tracts and are mostly identified on the nature of panicles, size of plants and other morphological characters. Cardamom varieties are highly location specific.
Detailed Study of the Plant
 A mature cardamom plant may measure about two to four meters in height. It is a shollow rooted plant. Leaves are distichous, lanceolate or oblong-Ianceolate or ovate in shape. Primary leaves are roundish in shape. Ligules are green or red tinted purple in colour with pigmented or non-pigmented midrib. Leaves are glabrous or pubescent. Pseudostem has light green or reddish purple or purple colour. Though production takes place throughout the year the peak period is from January to March. Flowers are born on panicles which emerge directly from the swollen base of the aerial shoot. Flowers are open, bisexual, with corolla, staminode, anther, stigma and well developed labellum. Stigma "is positioned above the anther.. labellum is prominent, and attract honey bees who insert their proboscis into the two nectar glands situated at the base of the flower. The foraging activities leads to pollination in flower. On maturity seeds turn dark brown to black in colour. Capsules are pale green to dark green in colour.
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