Bai Dou Kou

Amomum kravanh is a perennial rhizomatous herb in the Zingiberaceae family native to mainland Southeast Asia, especially Cambodia, Thailand and southern China. It forms dense clumps of erect leafy pseudostems 2-3 m tall arising from a stout aromatic rhizome. The lanceolate leaves are smooth, 25-50 cm long, with a prominent midrib and a sheathing base. Inflorescences emerge directly from the rhizome at ground level as short scaly spikes bearing pale yellow flowers with a striped lip. The fruit is a nearly spherical pale straw-coloured capsule about 1.5-2 cm across, splitting into three valves to reveal clusters of small, hard, dark brown seeds with a strong camphoraceous, cineole-rich aroma. The dried unopened capsules are the trade article known as round or Thai cardamom.