Cardamomum

Cardamom (Elettaria repens) has been used in India from a remote period, being mentioned in the writings of Susruta (522). It appears in the list of India spices liable to duty in Alexandria, A. D. 176-180. The Portuguese navigator Barbosa (39) first definitely describes its origin as a product of the Malabar Coast. Since its introduction from the Orient cardamom has been used, as it has been in its home from all time, as a flavor and a stomachic. Several forms of the cardamom are found in the bazaars of Turkey and Arabia, where it is brought by means of caravans. It is largely cultivated at the present time as an article of commerce. This writer found (1907) large cardamom seeds strung on strings and sold by number in bazaars in Asia Minor.

The History of the Vegetable Drugs of the U.S.P., 1911, was written by John Uri Lloyd.