Amomum villosum is the fruit of Amomum villosum, a plant of the Zingiberaceae family. After being used as medicine, it is a widely used medicine. However, because it is mainly produced in the tropics and subtropics, northerners may not be familiar with it. Generally speaking, there are three main sources of medicinal amomum villosum: one is spring sand mainly produced in Guangdong Province, China; one is shell sand from Hainan, China; and the other is shrunk sand dense, which is mainly produced in Southeast Asia. nation. In addition, there is a kind of green shell sand with a layer of white frost on the outside, which is also a very good Amomum villosum. Let me briefly introduce to you the varieties of Amomum villosum produced in southern my country.

Yangchun sand: oval in shape, with inconspicuous three blunt edges, dark brown in appearance, reticular protruding texture and dense short blunt soft spines. The peel is thin and easy to tear longitudinally. The inner surface is light brown with obvious longitudinal ribs. The seeds are round or oblong and divided into 3 parts. Each petal has 6 to 15 seeds. The seeds are hard and the kernels are yellow-white. The aroma is strong and the taste is pungent and slightly bitter.

Green shell sand: The shape is similar to that of Yangchun sand, but it is slightly thinner, with sparse spines, thicker peel and close to the seed mass, and the seeds are gray-brown or grey-brown. The smell is slightly lighter than Yangchun sand. The original Amomum villosum seed ball with the shell removed is in the shape of a triangular sphere or a triangular oblong shape, with a layer of white powdery frost on the surface.

Hainan sand: oblong or oval, with obvious triangular edges, about 2cm or more in length, with flaky branches and soft spines on the surface, and fruit stem marks at the base. The peel is light brown, thick and hard. There are fewer seed clusters, with 5 to 17 seeds in each petal. They are thinner and have a slightly lighter smell.

In general, the Yangchun sand produced in Yangchun, Yangjiang, Gaozhou and Xinyi areas of Guangdong is mostly clustered into ears, with darker color, tight skin and seed clusters, and strong aroma. The rest of the non-authentic Amomum villosum seeds are mostly loose fruits, light in color, the peel and kernels are not close to each other, and there are gaps when pinched by hand.