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Bengal Cardamom

Amomum subulatum, Zingiberaceae

Sources last read 14 September 2026.

Not yet rated How forgiving it is has not been judged here yet.

Also called Big Cardamon, Black Cardamom, Brown Cardamom, Greater Cardamon, Hill Cardamon, Indian Cardamom, Nepal Cardamom and Winged Cardamom.

Bengal Cardamom (Amomum subulatum), the whole plant.
Yercaud-elango, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Toxicity is partly unassessed

  • Not assessed for cats. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Not assessed for dogs. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Not assessed for people. NC State Extension publishes no harm statement for this plant. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.

What the sources say about its care

Light
Dappled Sunlight, Deep shade
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Water
Good Drainage, Moist, Occasionally Wet
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Humidity

No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.

ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%
Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Soil
High Organic Matter, Loam (Silt), Sand; pH Acid (<6.0)
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to cats
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to dogs
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Harmful to people
No record of poisoning in people is listed for this plant; that absence is not evidence it is safe.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026

Routine care

Watering
Cardamom grows best in hot, humid, shaded tropical rainforest, ideally close to hilly mountain streams or valleys with plenty of well-drained water, at 50 to 95 degrees and at altitudes of 2200 to 5000 feet.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Feeding
From seed, sow 1 to 2 inches deep with 18 inches between plants, and use a fertilizer high in nitrogen and low in potassium.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Propagation
Divide the rhizomes or sow seeds to propagate.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Pests and diseases
Can be troubled by lacewings, mealybugs, grasshoppers, aphids, redbanded thrips, armored scale and soft scale.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026

Move something and watch

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Bengal Cardamom (Amomum subulatum) growing wild.
In the wildA. J. T. Johnsingh, WWF-India and NCF, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

About the plant

Amomum subulatum, also known as black cardamom, hill cardamom, Bengal cardamom, greater cardamom, Indian cardamom, Nepal cardamom, winged cardamom, big cardamon, or brown cardamom, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Zingiberaceae. Its seed pods have a strong, camphor-like flavour, with a smoky character derived from the method of drying.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026

Native range
Nepal to C. China
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Nepal to Central China
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Climate
wet tropical
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Growth form
rhizomatous geophyte
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Herbaceous Perennial, Perennial; habit erect
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Size
Height 36–72 in; width up to 18 in
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Flowering
Flowers gold/yellow, pink, white; blooms in spring, summer
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Uses

What sources record people using this plant for. A traditional or medicinal use listed here is a record of use, not advice to eat it or treat anything with it.

Cardamom has been used in cooking since at least the sixth century BC, and was also used to ward off evil spirits. Now 60% goes into food, and 40% into pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and perfumes. Ayurveda (traditional Hindu medicine) lists it for many health benefits, among them dental, skin care, heart, kidney, circulation, nausea, digestion, detoxification, asthma, stimulant and astringent uses. Its seeds are a well-known spice for hearty, rustic food such as slow-cooked stews and soups, lentils, pasta, rice, meat and curries. The mild, smoky, roasted taste comes from drying the pods over open flames, and it lifts the other ingredients. The leaves can be cooked as greens, the roots eaten boiled, like potatoes, the flowers used as garnish, and the pods added to beef and chicken curries.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026

More of the Zingiberaceae family

Plants with similar care

Sources

What this does not cover

The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.

Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.

If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.