Abstract: Based on the field investigation in Mengyang Nature Reserve of Xishuangbanna, the morphological characteristics of cultivated Amomum villosum and wild A. villosum var. xanthioides were comparatively studied. It is claimed that A. villosum var. xanthioides is a wild type widely distributed in southern Yunnan, Guangxi and Guangdong of China and the neighboring mountain countries. The diversity among its individuals plant is quite significant. Amomum villosum is a cultivated type with low diversity and cultivated in southwestern Guangdong which was selected from A. villosum var. xanthioides through a long period of cultivation. The difference between these two types are believed to be the polytypism of population. The diversity of A. villosum var. xanthioides provides a basis for the selection of new strains.

Key words: Amomum villosum, Cultivated type, Amomum villosum var xanthioides, Wild type, Polytypism, Selection of strain, soil organic carbon, Bayesian geostatistics, solonchak soil, spatial prediction