Kingdom Plantae Family Zingiberaceae Scientific name Amomum villosum Rank Species | Order Zingiberales Genus Amomum Higher classification Amomum | |
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Similar Bai zhu, Amomum tsaoko, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Rehmannia glutinosa, Wolfiporia extensa | ||
Amomum villosum (砂仁) is a plant in the ginger family that is grown throughout Southeast Asia and in South China. Similar to cardamom, the plant is cultivated for their fruits, which dry into pods when mature and contain strongly aromatic seeds.
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Uses
The pods are used in Chinese cuisines to flavour soups and in Chinese herbology to treat stomach ache and dysentery.
Conservation
Due to the demand for the seeds and the ripe fruits of the plant and to curb slash-and-burn activities in their forests by local populations, cultivation of the A. villosum and co-plantings with rubber trees has been encouraged by the governments of Yunnan and Guangdong, China. However, the extensive cultivation of A. villosum in the forest has resulted in the reduction of species diversity in the rainforest of Southwest China.
