| Ayurvedic Herb: (Vrihat-Ela)Greater Cardamom - Amomum subulatum
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| Sanskrit Name: | Vrihat-Ela | | Hindi Name: | Badi Ilayachi | | English Name: | Greater Cardamom | | Latin Name: | Amomum subulatum | | Description: | This is a splendid plant from shady slopes on the Himalayas of Sikkim and Nepal. With long, erect, red stems generously clad with bright green leaves, it bears at the base of the plant a long succession of interesting yellow flowers, each a couple of inches or so across. This is an evergreen plant with the old stems dying down after a few years. The rhizomes are a dull red in color. Flower buds appear in spring from the base of the rhizome. The peduncle is short and the buds encased in tight red bracts. Flowers appear from spring through mid summer. Individual flowers stay open for three days and more and new ones open successively. An inflorescence stays in flower for over a month.. | | Dosha: | Pacifies Vata and Kapha and aggravates Pitta. | | Usage: | It has been traditionally used as an appetizer, a digestant as well as an antispasmodic. It stimulates the heart and has also been used as an expectorant. The seeds are also used as constituents of mouthwashes. |
List of all Herbs
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