Cardamom, or Cardamo-mum, a species of the Amomum, is a native of India, comprising two varieties. 1. The majus, or greater cardamom, which, when it arrives in England, is a dried fruit, or pod, about an inch long, and contains two rows of small triangular seeds, of a warm aromatic flavour. 2. The minus, or lesser cardamom, a fruit of an inferior size to that of the preceding variety, but considerably stronger, both in smell and taste.

The cardamom is, in this country, only known by its seeds, which are sometimes usefully employed in colds, flatulency, colics, and in laxity and debility of the intestines. Its seeds are said to possess this advantage over those of the pepper species, that notwithstanding their pungency, they do not immoderately heat or inflame the bowels.