What is Amomum tsaoko? The latest detailed introduction to Amomum tsaoko
Amomum tsaoko is a perennial herbaceous plant, 2-2.5m tall. The root system is divided into support roots (actually stems) and nutrient roots. The so-called support root is the thick, knotted, horizontally creeping rhizome that is swollen like ginger at the lower part of the main stem. Nutrient roots are the thinner pink fibrous roots that grow on both sides and at the tips of the support roots, entering the soil 10-30 cm, and can grow to 1-2 m long, serving to absorb nutrients and water.
The whole plant of Amomum tsaoko has a pungent smell. The stem base is swollen, reaching 6cm in diameter, and the stems are divided into upright stems and rhizomes. The upright stems emerge from leaf buds on the creeping rhizome, growing in clumps, up to 2.5—4 m tall, dark green, with purplish red at the base, light yellow and fleshy inside, cylindrical and jointed, upright or growing along the slope, generally with 12-16 leaves. The rhizome creeps and extends underground, also called the creeping stem; from the swollen part at the base of the upright stem and from the internodes of the rhizome, new creeping stems grow symmetrically on both sides, about 8-11 in number, entering the soil 10-20 cm deep, 30-80 cm long, 2-3 cm thick, serving to support and store nutrients. When the rhizome grows to a certain extent, it will send up new shoots, which grow into new plants (upright stems) the following year. The latent buds within the scales on the rhizome can sprout into flower buds and leaf buds; that is, sprouted flower buds can grow into flower spikes, while sprouted leaf buds grow into upright stems. After flowering and fruiting, the nearby upright stem forest naturally withers.
The leaves of Amomum tsaoko are in 2 rows, with short petioles or sessile; the leaf blades are long elliptic or narrowly oblong, about 55 cm long, up to 20 cm wide, the apex acuminate, the base gradually narrowed, entire, the margin membranous, both surfaces smooth and hairless; the leaf sheath is open, clasping the stem, the ligule 0.8-1.2 cm long, the ligule purplish, the leaf sheath striped, the scape emerging from the stem base, long acuminate, the base cuneate, entire, both surfaces hairless. The inflorescence of Amomum tsaoko is a spike, arising from the rhizome, spherical, with 60-120 flowers per spike. The flowers are bisexual, spirally arranged on the rachis of the flower spike, with purplish red bracts outside the florets, wrapping them layer by layer, so the unopened flower spike appears purplish red. When opening, they bloom gradually from bottom to top in a clockwise spiral, and the first flowers to open also fade first. The total flower spike is about 18 cm long, covered with dense purplish red bracts, the bracts elliptic with the apex gradually becoming pointed, 5.5-9.5 cm long, 2.5-3.5 cm wide, the tip gradually lost, herbaceous. Within the bracts, each floret is covered by a small bract, the bracteoles light purplish red and needle-shaped, about 3.5-4 cm long, 0.8 cm wide, the apex acuminate, the calyx tubular, about 2.5 cm long, 0.7 cm wide, split on one side to the middle, the apex with two teeth, the corolla golden yellow, the corolla tube about 3 cm long, long elliptic, the labellum elliptic, about 3.5 cm long, about 0.4 cm wide, the apex slightly toothed, the margin wavy, the midrib fleshy and thickened, with two dark red stripes on it, the anther 1.8 cm long, the middle lobe of the anther fan-shaped, the lateral lobes slightly narrow, with two anther sacs, one pistil, located slightly above the anther sacs of the stamens, the stigma elliptic, slightly concave in the middle, the style 4-4.5 cm long, the ovary inferior, spherical, three-loculed, ovules numerous, the top of the ovary with two nectar glands, about 0.5 cm long, pale yellow.
The fruit of Amomum tsaoko is an indehiscent capsule, the fruit rich in fiber, hard in texture after drying, the fruit shape spindle-shaped, ovoid or nearly spherical, densely spirally arranged on a rachis. Each spike has 15-60 fruits, each fruit 2.5-4 cm long, 1.4-2 cm in diameter, with a short fruit stalk at its base, the young fruit bright red, purplish red when mature, brownish after roasting, indehiscent, the apex gradually narrowed into a thick margin, tough and hard, with relatively neat straight-grained fibers.
Each fruit of Amomum tsaoko contains 20-66 seeds. The seeds are polygonal, about 0.4-0.7 cm long, about 0.3-0.5 cm wide, and each seed grain is wrapped in a layer of white spongy film. The kernel is white, with a rich, fragrant and pungent taste. The average thousand-grain weight is 120-140 grams, and each kilogram of fresh seeds contains about 6000-7000 grains.
The flowering period of Amomum tsaoko is April to June, and the fruiting period is September to December.