There are two key types of cardamom plant; Elettaria cardamomum – often called green or true cardamom and Amomum subulatum, known as black cardamom. Both are closely related to the ginger family ...

Though they come from two different cardamom plants — green and black — the pods do not grow in two different colors. The color actually refers to the stage in the maturation process of the pod.

Farmers wash greens at a campsite near a stand of black cardamom plants in Hoang Lien National Park. They were part of a group that spent several days harvesting the spice and drying it on an open ...