Cardamom is of the ginger family. The Sanskrit name for cardamom is “elā” or “truṭī.” In Urdu/Hindi/Gujarati and some Southern Indian languages It is called “elaichi” or “elchi.” In Malayalam, language of Kerala it is “Aelam”

There were initially three natural varieties of cardamom plants.
Malabar (Nadan/Native) – As the name suggests, this is the native variety of Kerala. These plants have pannicles which grow horizontally along the ground.
Mysore – As the name suggests, this is a native veriety of Karnataka. These plants have pannicles which grow vertically upwards.
Vazhuka – This is a naturally occurring hybrid between Malabar and Mysore varieties, and the pannicles don’t grow vertically nor horizontally, but in between both.

Recently a few planters isolated high yielding plants and started multiplying them on a large scale.

Uses:
Cardamom is used as flavorings in both food and drink, as cooking spices and as a medicine. It is added in tea as well some time giving the tea an awesome flavor. It is used in a lot of south indian food for its fragrance and for health reasons as well.

Food and drink
Cardamom has a strong, unique taste, with an intensely aromatic fragrance. Black cardamom has a distinctly more astringent aroma, though not bitter, with a coolness similar to mint, though with a different aroma. It is a common ingredient in Indian cooking. In South Asia, green cardamom is often used in traditional Indian sweets and in Masala chai (spiced tea).

As a Medicine:
Green cardamom in South Asia is broadly used to treat infections in teeth and gums, to prevent and treat throat troubles, congestion of the lungs and pulmonary tuberculosis, inflammation of eyelids and also digestive disorders. It also is used to break up kidney stones and gall stones,and was reportedly used as an antidote for both snake and scorpion venom bite. Amomum is used as a spice and as an ingredient in traditional medicine in systems of the traditional Chinese medicine in China, in Ayurveda in India, Japan, Korea and Vietnam.