English Name: Greater Cardamom
Hindi Name: Badi Elachi
Sanskrit Name: Vrihat Ela
Latin Name: Amomum subulatum Pennell

This is a splendid plant from shady slopes on the Himalayas of Sikkim and Nepal. With long, erect, red stems generously clad with bright green leaves, it bears at the base of the plant a long succession of interesting yellow flowers, each a couple of inches or so across. A spicy, cardamom-like fruit follows these A clustering ginger with stems growing up to 5ft tall. Leaves are found on the upper portion of the stem. This is an evergreen plant with the old stems dying down after a few years. The rhizomes are a dull red in color. Flower buds appear in spring from the base of the rhizome. The peduncle is short and the buds encased in tight red bracts. Flowers appear from spring through mid summer. Individual flowers stay open for three days and more and new ones open successively. An inflorescence stays in flower for over a month.