Botanical name: Amomum cannicarpum (Wight) Benth. ex Baker
Local name: Kattuperalam
Habitat: Evergreen forests
Flowering & fruiting: March to May
Distribution: Western Ghats
Description: leafy stem with 2-3 m length and it is erect, straight and loosely clumped. The rootstock is horizontal and much branched. The flowers are one or two in a bract; obtuse calyx lobes and equally lobbed corolla lobes with 2 x 1 cm, obtuse and glabrous. The Capsule is 1.5 cm across with dark brown in color.
Significance: The petroleum ether extract of the rhizomes was found to be moderately active against most of the tested Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. While the MeOH extract showed only mild inhibition against few of the tested bacteria and it is also being used as traditional medicine.