Distribution and Habitat: Widely cultivated in Malabar and Western Ghats.

Botany: A tall herbaceous perennial with subterranean branching root stock, 1.5-5 m in height. 

• Leaves: Large, narrow, with strong medium nerves, 30-60 X 7.5 cm, elliptic or lanceolate with sheathing base.
• Flowers: On leafless shoots from the rhizome. Flower stocks appear from near the base of the stem and lies on the ground. Flowers are white or pale green in colour. Calyx 13 mm long. Lip of the corolla is white, streaked with violet.
• Fruits: Pale green to yellow in colour, ovoid, three sides with many triangular brownish – black seeds.
• Seeds: 15-20 per pod, covered by a thin mucilaginous membrane.

Properties:  Stimulant, aromatic, Purgative and carminative

Chemical constituents: A volatile oil 2 to 8 % from seeds and fixed oil; Limonene, borneol, L-terpineol, potassium salts, starch, nitrogenous mucilage, α-pinene, sabinene, myrcene, limonene, cineol, cymene, linalool, linalyl acetate etc. from essential oils

Uses: Commonly in adjuvants or correctives of cordial, tonic and purgatives

Formulations: Eladi-churna, Eladi-arishta, Eladi-gulika, eladya-modak, talisadi-churna, chandanadi-vati, Chandraprabha-vati. 

Agro technology:

Soil and climate: It is grown in areas where the annual rainfall ranges from 1500-4000 mm. It is generally grown in forest loam soils rich in available phosphorous and Potassium.

Propagation: It can be propagated vegetatively and by seedlings. Irrigation: Regular watering during dry months. Provide irrigation once in a fortnight and adopt necessary plant protection measures. 

Manures and Fertilizers:  Application of organic manures such as FYM, cow dung or compost. N: P2O5: K2O @75: 75: 150 kg/ha may be applied in two split doses.

Plant protection: Cardomom thrips, Shoot/ capsule borer and cardamom white fly are the main pests. The important diseases are Katte or mosaic, clump rot or rhizome rot and leaf blotch diseases