Wurfbainia compacta (Sol. ex Maton) Škorničk. & A.D.Poulsen syn. Amomum compactum Sol. ex Maton; Amomum kepulaga Sprague & Burkill - Zingiberaceae - Java cardamom, kapulaga, round cardamom, 爪哇白豆蔻 zhao wa bai dou kou (chin.), **Java-Kardamom**

Perennial herb, up to 1.5m tall, native to Indonesia (Java, Sumatera), cultivated and naturalized in Malaysia, India, China; pseudo-stem consisting of many leaves; leaf blades 25-50cm long, shiny green; flowers on inflorescences growing directly from the rhizome; corolla white or yellowish, tube 1cm, lobes oblong, ca.8mm, labellum yellowish with orange midvein and purple margin, elliptic, 1.5-1.8cm. [[http://efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200028314|efloras.org]] [[https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77178274-1|Kew]]

"The seeds own a specific sharp flavor reminiscent of lavender and are used as a spice. They are highly valued in Southeast Asia and are considered a substitute for green cardamom [[elettaria_cardamomum_l._maton|Elettaria cardamomum]]." \\
[Bernd Nowak, Bettina Schulz. Nutzpflanzen der Tropen und Subtropen. Quelle und Meyer Verlag Wiebelsheim, 2019, 184-186]

Main components of W.compactum essential oils (HD/MHD) were 1,8-cineole (eucalyptol; 47.6-48.6%), β-pinene (13.7-15.8%), limonene (7.8-8.3%), α-terpineol (6.8-8.3%), and α-pinene (2.8-3.8%). Minor components were longifolene (1.5%), linalool (1.0-1.4%), α-terpinyl acetate (0.8-1.3%), α-phellandrene (0.8%), and carvone (0.3%) e.g. \\
[Feng, Xue, et al. "Composition Comparison of Essential Oils Extracted by Hydro
distillation and Microwave-assisted Hydrodistillation from Amomum kravanh and Amomum compactum" Journal of Essential Oil Bearing Plants 14.3 (2011): 354-359]

|{{:1.8cineole.jpg| 1.8-cineole }} \\ 1.8-cineole |{{:beta_pinene.jpg| β-pinene }} \\ β-pinene |{{:alpha_pinene.jpg| α-pinene }} \\ α-pinene |{{:limonene.jpg|limonene}} \\ limonene |{{:terpineol_alpha.jpg|α-terpineol}} \\ α-terpineol |{{:alpha_terpinylacetate.jpg| α-terpinyl acetate }} \\ α-terpinyl acetate | 

The major compounds of essential oils from two different sites in Indonesia were 1,8-cineole (eucalyptol; 62.2-66.2%), β-pinene (6.9-12.6%), α-terpineol (3.6-5.9%), α-pinene (2.6-4.1%), α-terpinyl acetate (0-3.9%), and limonene (1.5-3.2%). Minor components were linalool (0.8-1.2%), fenchone (0-1.4%), terpinen-4-ol (0.6-0.8%), and linalyl acetate (0-0.4%) e.g. \\
[Darsih, Cici, et al. "Antibacterial and angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition activities of essential oil from Java cardamom (Amomum compactum) fruit." Indian Journal of Microbiology 63.3 (2023): 263-271] [[https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10533441/pdf/12088_2023_Article_1080.pdf|PDF]]

{{:wurfbainia_com.jpg?700|Wurfbainia compacta}} \\ 
Wurfbainia compacta flowers, Java (2025) © D.Hämmerli [[https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/|CC BY-SA 4.0]] [[https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?taxon_id=1157308|inaturalist.org]]