AMOIBITE, in Mineralogy, a variety of Arsenical Nickel, containing' from 40 to 50 per cent. of nickel and 14 per cent. of sulphur. .
AM0'31U31, a genus of plants belonging to the natural order Zingiberacete. It consists of species having white flowers collected in close heads, which arise from the base of the leaves, and only just mine themselves above the ground ; the lower lip of the flower is very broad and large compared with the others, and the other has a two-lobed crest. The seeds are contained in a loose skin, and are inclosed in a rather tough capsule, which is separated into three cells by as many membranous partitions, and finally opens into three valves. The leaves are of a broadly lanceolate or oval figure tapering to the point, and enwrapping the stem like a sort of sheath.
A. angustifolium is a sharp-leaved species, and a native of marshy ground, in Madagascar. It is cultivated in the Mauritius. It has a deep blood-red calyx, and the outer segment of the corolla is red. The whole plant is aromatic, and the fruit constitutes the Cardamom:cm majus of the older writers.
A. aromaticunt is a native of the valleys on the eastern frontiers of Bengal. The fruit has similar qualities to those of the true Cardamoms, for which they are often sold to the druggists of India.
A. Grana-Paradisi has a perennial root-stalk, giving off erect slender stems, 3 feet high. • The leaves are numerous and crowded. The capsule is large, 14 inch long, and half-an-inch in diameter. It hae a very strong aromatic odour and flavour. The seeds have the same properties as the Cardamoms. The plaut is a native of Guinea, near Sierra Leona. The fruits are known by the name of Grains of Paradise, and 3Ielligetta or Malagueta Pepper.
A. grandiftorunt, of Smith, is also a native of Sierra Leone. It has large flowers, and yields seeds, which differ from those of Grains of Paradise in being gray or lead-coloured, much less polished, and possessing a totally different flavour, resembling that of camphor. They may be used for the same purposes as the Cardamoms.
The Cardamoms of commerce are the capsules, which are gathered as the seeds ripen, are dried in the sun, and are then fit for sale. The small capsules, or Lesser Cardamoms, are the most valuable. [CARA.a mons, in ARTS AND Sc. Dry.] ( Lindley, Flora Afedica.) AMPELVDEsE, one of the names of the Vine Tribe, Flues:xi AMPHEIWSTUS, a Fossil Fish, from the Isle of Sheppy. ( Icon. Fossil.)