Piper, the
pepper plants or
pepper vines (a term used for certain
ClematisClematis is a genus of climbing vines with showy flowers. They are popular among gardeners, and over 200 species are known with more cultivars being produced constantly...
in older times), are an economically and ecologically important
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
in the
familyIn biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus...
PiperaceaePiperaceae is the botanical name for a family of flowering plants. Such a family has been recognized by most taxonomists: it is sometimes known as the "pepper family"...
. It contains about 1,000-2,000
speciesIn biology, a species is:* a taxonomic rank or* a unit at that rank ....
of shrubs, herbs, and
lianaA liana is any of various long-stemmed, usually woody vines that are rooted in the soil at ground level and use trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the canopy in order to get access to well-lit areas of the forest. Lianas are especially characteristic of tropical moist...
s, many of which are
keystone speciesA keystone species is a species that has a disproportionate effect on its environment relative to its abundance. Such species affect many other organisms in an ecosystem and help to determine the types and numbers of various others species in a community....
in their native habitat The diversification of this taxon is of interest to understanding the evolution of plants.
Pepper plants belong to the magnoliids, which are angiosperms but neither monocots nor eudicots. Their
familyIn biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus...
,
PiperaceaePiperaceae is the botanical name for a family of flowering plants. Such a family has been recognized by most taxonomists: it is sometimes known as the "pepper family"...
, is most closely related to the lizardtail family (
SaururaceaeSaururaceae is a plant family comprising four genera and six species of herbaceous flowering plants native to eastern and southern Asia and North America. The family has been recognised by most taxonomists, and is sometimes known as the "lizard's-tail family"...
), which in fact generally look like smaller, more delicate and
amphibiousAmphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to:*Amphibious warfare, warfare carried out on both land and water*Amphibians, vertebrate animals of the Class Amphibia...
pepper plants. Both families have characteristic tail-shaped
inflorescenceAn inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
s covered in tiny flowers. A somewhat less close relative is the pipevine family (
AristolochiaceaeThe Aristolochiaceae, or the Birthwort family, are a family of flowering plants with 8 genera and about 400 species belonging to the order Piperales...
). A well-known and very close relative – being also part of the Piperaceae – are the radiator plants of the genus
Peperomia.
The scientific name
Piper and the common name "pepper" are derived from the
SanskritSanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India. It is also declared as a classical language by the government of India....
term
pippali, denoting the
Long PepperLong pepper , sometimes called Javanese, Indian or Indonesian Long Pepper, is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. Long pepper is a close relative of Piper nigrum giving black, green and white pepper, and has...
(
P. longum).
Distribution and ecology
Piper species have a pantropical distribution, and are most commonly found in the understory of lowland
tropical rainforestA tropical rainforest is an ecosystem usually found around the equator. They are common in Asia, Australia, Africa, South America, Central America, Mexico and on many of the Pacific Islands...
s, but can also occur in clearings and in higher elevation life zones such as
cloud forestA cloud forest, also called a fog forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical evergreen montane moist forest characterized by a high incidence of low-level cloud cover, usually at the canopy level. Cloud forests often exhibit an abundance of mosses covering the ground and vegetation, in which...
s; one species (Japanese Pepper,
P. kadsura, from southern
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and southernmost
KoreaKorea is a civilization and formerly unified nation currently divided into two states. Located on the Korean Peninsula, it borders China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the east by the Korea Strait....
) is subtropical and can tolerate light winter
frostFrost is the solid deposition of water vapor from saturated air. It is formed when solid surfaces are cooled to below the dew point of the adjacent air. Frost crystals' size differ depending on time and water vapor available. Frost is also usually translucent in appearance. There are many types of...
. Peppers are often dominant
vegetationVegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characteristics. It is broader...
where they are found.
Most
Piper species are either
herbaceousA herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...
or
vineThe term vine may refer to a climbing or trailing plant. The word, derived from Latin vīnea, in the original sense referred to the grapevines . The modern extended sense is mostly restricted to North American English, which uses "grapevine" to refer to the grape-bearing Vitis species...
s; some grow as
shrubA shrub or bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall. A large number of plants can be either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s or almost as small
treeA tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s. A few species, commonly called "ant pipers" (e.g.
Piper cenocladumThe tropical rainforest understory shrub Piper cenocladum is a member of the same genus as kava, betel, and black pepper. It is a myrmecophyte, a plant that lives in ecological mutualism with ants. This plant and three or four other closely related species are known collectively as ant plants or...
), live in a
mutualismMutualism is a biological interaction between two organisms, where each individual derives a fitness benefit . Similar interactions within a species are known as co-operation...
with
antAnts are social insects of the family Formicidae , and along with the related wasps and bees, they belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants...
s. The fruit of the
Piper plant, called a peppercorn when it is round and pea-sized, as is usual, is distributed in the wild mainly by
birdBirds are winged, bipedal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay eggs. There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Birds range in size from the Bee Hummingbird to the ...
s, but small fruit-eating
mammalMammals are a class of vertebrate animals whose females are characterized by the possession of mammary glands while both males and females are characterized by sweat glands, hair, three middle ear bones used in hearing, and a neocortex region in the brain.Mammals are divided into three main...
s – e.g.
batBats are flying mammals in the order Chiroptera . The forelimbs of bats are webbed and developed as wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums and colugos, glide rather than...
s of the genus
CarolliaCarollia is a genus of bats often referred to as the short-tailed fruit bats. Along with the genus Rhinophylla, Carollia makes up the subfamily Carolliinae of family Phyllostomidae, the leaf-nosed bats. Currently, nine species of Carollia are recognized, with a number having been described since...
– are also important. Despite the high content of chemicals that are noxious to
herbivoreA herbivore is an animal that is adapted to eat plants and not meat.Herbivory is a form of predation in which an organism consumes principally autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria....
s, some have evolved the ability to withstand the chemical defences of pepper plants, for example the
sematurineSematurinae is a subfamily of moths in the family Sematuridae, represented by at least 29 species in the Neotropics.-Taxonomy, classification and identification:Sematurinae has three principal genera, and possibly another two...
mothA moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. The differences between butterflies and moths are more than just taxonomy. Sometimes the names "Rhopalocera" and "Heterocera" are used to formalize the popular distinction...
Homidiana subpicta or some
flea beetleFlea beetles is a general name applied to the small, jumping beetles of the leaf beetle family . They make up the tribe Alticini, which is a part of the subfamily Galerucinae, though they were historically classified as a subfamily in their own right...
s of the genus
Lanka. The latter can be significant pests to pepper growers.
Piper and humans
Many pepper plants make good
ornamentalOrnamental plants are typically grown in the flower garden or as house plants. Most commonly they are grown for the display of their flowers. Other common ornamental features include leaves, scent, fruit, stem and bark. In some cases, unusual features may be considered ornamental, such as the...
s for gardens in subtropical or warmer regions. Pepper vines can be used much as
ivyHedera is a genus of 15 species of climbing or ground-creeping evergreen woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to the Atlantic Islands, western, central and southern Europe, northwestern Africa and across central-southern Asia east to Japan...
in
temperateIn geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally mild, rather than extreme hot or cold. But in continental areas, such as central North America the variations between summer...
climates, while other species, like Lacquered Pepper (
P. magnificum) grow as sizeable, compact and attractive shrubs with tough and shiny leaves. Smaller
speciesIn biology, a species is:* a taxonomic rank or* a unit at that rank ....
, like Celebes Pepper (
P. ornatum) with its finely patterned leaves, are also suitable as indoor pot plants.
Unsustainable
loggingLogging is the process in which certain trees are cut down for forest management and timber.In forestry the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard. In common usage...
of tropical primary forests is threatening a number of peppers. The extent of the effect of such wholesale
habitat destructionHabitat destruction is the process in which natural habitat is rendered functionally unable to support the species present. In this process, the organisms which previously used the site are displaced or destroyed, reducing biodiversity. Habitat destruction by human activity mainly for the purpose...
on the genus is unknown, but it is to be noted that in the forests of
EcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador , literally, "Republic of the equator") is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America that...
– the only larger region for which comprehensive data exists – more than a dozen species are known to be on the brink of extinction. On the other hand, other
Piper species (e.g. Spiked Pepper,
P. aduncum) have been widely distributed as a result of human activity and are a major
invasive species'Invasive species' is a phrase with several definitions. The first definition expresses the phrase in terms of non-indigenous species that adversely affect the habitats they invade economically, environmentally or ecologically...
in certain areas.
The most significant human use of
Piper is not for its looks however, but ultimately for the wide range of powerful secondary compounds found particularly in the fruits.
As spice and vegetable
- For other spices called "pepper", see Pepper.
Culinary use of pepper plants is attested perhaps as early as 9,000 years ago. Peppercorn remains were found among the food refuse left by
HoabinhianThe term Hoabinhian was first used by French archaeologists working in Northern Vietnam to describe Holocene period archaeological assemblages excavated from rock shelters. It has become a common term to describe stone artifact assemblages in Southeast Asia that contain flaked, cobble artifacts,...
artisans at Spirit Cave,
VietnamVietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east...
. It is not too likely that these plants were deliberately grown rather than collected from the wild.
Use of peppercorns as pungent spice is significant on an international scale. In
classical antiquityClassical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
, there was a vigorous
trade of spicesThe spice trade is a commercial activity of ancient origin which involves the merchandising of spices, incense, herbs, drugs and opium. Civilizations of Asia were involved in spice trade from the ancient times, and the Greco-Roman world soon followed by trading along the Incense route and the...
including
Black PepperBlack pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is a small drupe approximately five millimetres in diameter, dark red when fully mature, containing a single...
(
P. nigrum) from
South AsiaSouth Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries on the west and the east...
to
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
already. The
ApiciusApicius is the title of a collection of Roman cookery recipes, usually thought to have been compiled in the late 4th or early 5th century AD and written in a language that is in many ways closer to Vulgar than to Classical Latin....
, a recipe collection complied about 400 AD, mentions "pepper" as a spice for most main dishes, though in some cases the unrelated
AllspiceAllspice, also called Jamaica pepper, Kurundu, Myrtle pepper, pimenta, or newspice, is a spice which is the dried unripe fruit of Pimenta dioica , a mid-canopy tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico and Central America, now cultivated in many warm parts of the world...
(
Pimentum dioica) rather than of Black Pepper might have been used. Judging from the
Apicius, in the late
Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
, Black Pepper was probably still expensive, but nevertheless seems to have been available readily enough to be used more frequently than
saltA salt, in chemistry, is an ionic compound, and can result from the neutralization reaction of acids and bases. Salts are ionic compounds composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
or
sugarSugar is a class of edible crystalline substances, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose. Human taste buds interpret its flavor as sweet. Sugar as a basic food carbohydrate primarily comes from sugar cane and from sugar beet, but also appears in fruit, honey, sorghum, sugar maple , and in many...
. As Europe turned into the
Early Middle AgesThe Early Middle Ages, or Dark Ages, is a period in the history of Europe following the fall of the Western Roman Empire. It lasted from about AD 500 to 1000. The period featured raiding, migration, and conquest by Huns, Germanic peoples, Arabs, Vikings, Hungarians and others. There was frequent...
, trade routes deteriorated and the use of pepper declined somewhat.
But this dearth was hardly ever absolute and altogether rather short-lived. Black peppercorns, storing easily and having a high mass per volume, never ceased to be a profitable trade item. In the
Middle AgesThe Middle Ages of European history is a period of European history covering roughly a millennium in the 5th century through 16th centuries. More specific starting and ending points are sometimes adopted by scholars to suit their respective specializations or current focus...
, international traders were nicknamed
Pfeffersäcke ("pepper-sacks") in
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
towns of the
Hanseatic LeagueThe Hanseatic League was an alliance of trading cities and their guilds that established and maintained a trade monopoly along the coast of Northern Europe, from the Baltic to the North Sea and inland, during the Late Middle Ages and early modern period...
and elsewhere. As the Modern Era came into full swing, wars were fought by European powers, between themselves and in complex alliances and enmities with
Indian OceanThe Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by South Asia ; on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean...
states, about control of the supply of spices, perhaps the most archetypal being Black Pepper fruit. Today, Black Pepper corns of the three preparations (green, white and black) are one of the most widely used spices of plant origin worldwide.
Due to the wide distribution of
Piper, the fruit of other species are also important spices, many of them internationally.
Mecaxochitl (
P. amalgo) was used by the Aztecs to spice up
cocoaCocoa is the dried and fully fermented fatty seed of the cacao tree, from which chocolate is made. "Cocoa" can often also refer to the drink commonly known as hot chocolate; to cocoa powder, the dry powder made by grinding cocoa seeds and removing the cocoa butter from the dark, bitter cocoa...
.
CubebCubeb , or tailed pepper, is a plant in genus Piper, cultivated for its fruit and essential oil. It is mostly grown in Java and Sumatra, hence sometimes called Java pepper. The fruits are gathered before they are ripe, and carefully dried...
(
P. cubeba), also known as Tailed or Javan Pepper actually played a major role in Early Modern Era spice trade;
ocet kubebowy, Cubeb-flavored vinegar, was a popular condiment in 14th century
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. But reputedly
Philip IV of SpainPhilip IV was King of Spain between 1621 and 1665, sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, and King of Portugal until 1640. On the eve of his death in 1665, the Spanish empire reached its territorial zenith spanning almost 3 billion acres...
at the end of the 1630s suppressed trade in Cubeb peppercorns to capitalize on his massive share of the Black Pepper trade. After a brief comeback as a medical plant, Cubeb is nowadays fairly obscure in the West. It is however a most significant spice around the
Indian OceanThe Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by South Asia ; on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean...
region today, and popular as far as
MoroccoMorocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 32 million and an area just under . Its capital is Rabat, and its largest city is Casablanca. Morocco has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the...
where it flavors spicy-sweet
markout pastryPastry is the name given to various kinds of baked goods made from ingredients such as flour, butter, shortening, baking powder or eggs. Small cakes, tarts and other sweet baked goods are called "pastries"....
and is sometimes included in the famous
ras el hanoutRas el hanout is a popular blend of herbs and spices that is used across the Middle East and North Africa. The name means "head of the shop" in Arabic, and refers to a mixture of the best spices a seller has to offer....
mix. Further east, it is well-loved across Indonesia, where it is the popular pepper to use in
gulé (curried stews).
West African PepperWest African Pepper, also known as Ashanti Pepper, Benin Pepper, False Cubeb, Guinea Cubeb, Uziza Pepper or "Guinea pepper", called locally kale, kukauabe, masoro, sasema and soro wisa, is a West African spice that corresponds to the dried fruit of Piper guineense...
(
P. guineense), also given a variety of "regionalized" names like "
BeninBenin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north; its short coastline to the south leads to the Bight of Benin....
pepper", "
AshantiAshanti, or Asante, are a major ethnic group of Ashanti Region in Ghana.They are part of the larger Akan Ethnic group. The Ashanti speak Twi, an Akan language similar to Fante.For the Ashanti Empire see Asanteman....
pepper, or the rather ambiguous "
Guinea pepperGuinea pepper is the name for several unrelated pepper-like spices traded from the general region of West Africa:* Aframomum melegueta from the ginger family...
", is considered supreme for use in stews and other regional specialties. It is used in addition to Black Pepper to impart a particularly refined aroma with hints of
nutmegNutmeg or Myristica fragrans is an evergreen tree indigenous to the Banda Islands in the Moluccas of Indonesia, or Spice Islands. Until the mid 19th century this was the world's only source...
and
saffronSaffron is a spice derived from the flower of the saffron crocus , a species of crocus in the family Iridaceae. A C. sativus flower bears three stigmas, each the distal end of a carpel. Together with their styles—stalks connecting stigmas to their host plant—stigmas are dried and used in cooking...
. Sometimes it is used in the
East AfricaEast Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
n
berbereBerbere is a spice mixture whose ingredients usually include chile peppers, ginger, cloves, coriander, allspice, rue berries, and ajwain...
spice mix. This species, despite being traded more extensively in earlier times, is very hard to get outside Africa today. More readily available in the West is
Long PepperLong pepper , sometimes called Javanese, Indian or Indonesian Long Pepper, is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. Long pepper is a close relative of Piper nigrum giving black, green and white pepper, and has...
(
P. longum), commonly traded under its
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
n name
pipalli. This is possibly the secondmost popular
Piper spice internationally; it has a rather
chiliChili pepper is the vegetable of the plants from the genus Capsicum, members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Botanically speaking, the fruit of capsicums are berries...
-like "heat" and the whole
inflorescenceAn inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is used as the fruits are tiny.
Not only the seeds of
Piper are used in cooking. West African Pepper leaves, known locally as
uziza, are used as flavoring vegetable in
NigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal Capital Territory. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger...
n stews. In
MexicanThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
-influenced cooking,
hoja santa or Mexican Pepperleaf (
P. auritum) has a variety of uses, mainly to impart flavor too. In
Southeast AsiaManila
Bangkok
Ho Chi Minh City
Kuala Lumpur
Singapore
Yangon
Bandung
Hanoi
Surabaya
Taichung
Kaohsiung
Medan|-|}...
, leaves of two species of
Piper have major importance in cooking:
LolotLolot is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its leaf which is used in Lao and Vietnamese cuisine as a flavoring wrap for grilling meats. It is also known as lolot pepper. In Vietnamese it is called lá lốt....
(
P. lolot) is used to wrap
meatMeat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs, livers, skin, brains, bone marrow, kidneys, or lungs...
for grilling in the
IndochinaIndochina, or the Indochinese Peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly east of India, south of China.The word has French origins, Indochine, and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory to bordering countries.Historically, the countries of...
region, while
P. sarmentosumPiper sarmentosum is a plant in the Piperaceae family used in many Southeast Asian cuisines. The leaves are often confused with betel, but they lack the intense taste of the betel leaves and are significantly smaller.-Names:...
, often seen under the name
cha phlu, is used raw or cooked as a vegetable in its own right in Malay and Thai cuisine; it is also used to prepare the famous
miang snacks of
Tak ProvinceTak is one of the northern provinces of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, Lamphun, Lampang, Sukhothai, Kamphaeng Phet, Nakhon Sawan, Uthai Thani and Kanchanaburi...
.
As medicine and stimulant
CubebCubeb , or tailed pepper, is a plant in genus Piper, cultivated for its fruit and essential oil. It is mostly grown in Java and Sumatra, hence sometimes called Java pepper. The fruits are gathered before they are ripe, and carefully dried...
(
P. cubeba) has been used in
folk medicineFolk medicine refers to healing practices and ideas of body physiology and health preservation widely known to much of the population in a culture, transmitted informally as general knowledge, and practiced or applied by anyone in the culture . All cultures and societies have knowledge best...
,
herbalismHerbalism is a traditional medicinal or folk medicine practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts. Herbalism is also known as botanical medicine, medical herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology, and phytotherapy...
and related fields (e.g.
alchemyAlchemy is both a philosophy and a practice with an aim of achieving ultimate wisdom as well as immortality, involving the improvement of the alchemist as well as the making of several substances described as possessing unusual properties...
, folk magic or
exorcismExorcism is the practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed...
), as well as, particularly in the early 20th century, as a
cigaretteA cigarette is a product consumed through smoking and manufactured out of cured and finely cut tobacco leaves and reconstituted tobacco, often combined with other additives, then rolled or stuffed into a paper-wrapped cylinder...
flavoring.
P. darienensePiper darienense is a flowering plant in the family Piperaceae. It is called Duermeboca in Panama. In El Chocó, the plant is used as a fish poison. Cuna, an indigenous people of Panama and Colombia, call it Kana, and they use it in a bath, for snakebites and colds....
is used medically by the Kuna people of the
PanamaPanama, officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of both Central America and, in turn, North America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the...
-
ColombiaColombia , officially the Republic of Colombia , is a constitutional republic in northwestern South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the northwest by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean...
border region, and elsewhere it is used to intoxicate
fishA fish is any aquatic vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins...
which then can be easily caught. Spiked Pepper, often called
"maticoMatico is a flowering plant in the family Piperaceae. Like many species in the family, the Matico tree has a peppery odor.-Usage:...
", appears to have strong disinfectant and
antibioticIn common usage, an antibiotic is a substance or compound that kills or inhibits the growth of bacteria...
properties.
Black PepperBlack pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is a small drupe approximately five millimetres in diameter, dark red when fully mature, containing a single...
(
P. nigrum)
essential oilAn essential oil is a concentrated, hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile or ethereal oils, or simply as the "oil of" the plant from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove. An oil is "essential" in the sense that it...
is sometimes used in herbalism, and
Long PepperLong pepper , sometimes called Javanese, Indian or Indonesian Long Pepper, is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. Long pepper is a close relative of Piper nigrum giving black, green and white pepper, and has...
(
P. longum) is similarly employed in
AyurvedaAyurveda is a system of traditional medicine native to India and practiced in other parts of the world as a form of alternative medicine. In Sanskrit, the word Ayurveda consists of the words , meaning 'life', and , meaning 'related to knowledge' or 'science'...
, where it was an ingredient of
Triphala Guggulu and (together with Black Pepper) of
Trikatu pillPill or the pill may refer to:* A ball, or anything small and round, the origin of the now-obsolete term pill , referring to a specific dose of medicine...
s, used for
rasayanaRasayan, a Sanskrit word , is used to describe chemistry and alchemy, and chemistry is generally called Rasayan Shastra in Sanskrit, Marathi, Hindi, Kannada and several other Indian languages.Ancient rasayan texts center around the use of prepared forms of mercury , as do occidental...
(rejuvenating and
detoxifyingBody cleansing or detoxification is a treatment in alternative medicine which proponents claim rid the body of accumulated harmful substances that exert a negative effect on individual health...
) purposes.
- See also Betel leaf, Kava culture
Kava culture refers to the cultures of western Oceania which consume kava, and the religious and cultural traditions associated with it. There are similarities in the use of kava between the different cultures, but each one also has its own traditions.-Hawaii:...
.
Two
Piper species have gained large-scale use as a
stimulantStimulants, also sometimes called psychostimulants, are psychoactive drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both. Examples of these kinds of effects may include enhanced alertness, wakefulness, and locomotion, among others...
.
BetelThe Betel is the leaf of a vine belonging to the Piperaceae family, which includes pepper and Kava. It is valued both as a mild stimulant and for its medicinal properties....
(
P. betle) is used as a wrapper for the Betel leaf chunks; its sap helps release the stimulating effect of these "cookies" which are widely known as
pan in
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
. In the Pacific region, where it has been widely spread as a
canoe plantCanoe plants or Polynesian introductions are plants taken from ancient Polynesia and transplanted to several different islands in the Pacific, covering an area of about 120,000 square miles...
,
KavaKava is an ancient crop of the western Pacific. Other names for kava include awa , 'ava , yaqona , and sakau . The word kava is used to refer both to the plant and the beverage produced from its roots...
(
P. methysticum) is used to produce a stimulating drink somewhat similar to
alcoholIn chemistry, an alcohol is any organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom of an alkyl or substituted alkyl group. An important group of acohols is formed by the simple acyclic alcohols, the general formula for which is C
nH
2n+1OH...
but without many of the negative side effects and
addictionThe term "addiction" is used in many contexts to describe an obsession, compulsion, or excessive psychological dependence, such as: drug addiction The term "addiction" is used in many contexts to describe an obsession, compulsion, or excessive psychological dependence, such as: drug addiction The...
risk. It has also become popular elsewhere in recent decades, and is used as a medical plant. However, Kava whole-plant "herbal supplement" pills have occasionally shown a strong hepatotoxic effect, which has led to their banning in many countries. On the other hand, the traditional preparation of the root as a stimulating drink appears to pose little if any such hazard.
In science
The genus contains species suitable for studying
natural historyNatural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards the observational than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research that is published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, Natural history is the systematic...
,
molecular biologyMolecular biology is the study of biology at a molecular level. The field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry...
,
natural productA natural product is a chemical compound or substance produced by a living organism - found in nature that usually has a pharmacological or biological activity for use in pharmaceutical drug discovery and drug design...
s
chemistryChemistry is the science concerned with the composition, behavior, structure, and properties of matter, as well as the changes it undergoes during chemical reactions...
,
community ecologyCommunity ecology is a subdiscipline of ecology which studies the distribution, abundance, demography, and interactions between coexisting populations. Interactions between populations, determined by specific genotypic and phenotypic characteristics, is the primary focus of community...
, and
evolutionary biologyEvolutionary biology is a sub-field of biology concerned with the origin of species from a common descent and descent of species, as well as their change, multiplication and diversity over time. Someone who studies evolutionary biology is known as an evolutionary biologist...
.
Piper is a
model genusA model organism is a species that is extensively studied to understand particular biological phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the organism model will provide insight into the workings of other organisms...
for research in
ecology and evolutionary biologySome U.S. universities are home to degree programs entitled Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, offering integrated studies in the disciplines of ecology and evolutionary biology...
. The diversity and ecological importance of the genus makes it an obvious candidate for ecological and evolutionary studies, though not surprisingly, most research has focused on the economically important species
P. nigrum (
black pepperBlack pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is a small drupe approximately five millimetres in diameter, dark red when fully mature, containing a single...
),
P. methysticum (
kavaKava is an ancient crop of the western Pacific. Other names for kava include awa , 'ava , yaqona , and sakau . The word kava is used to refer both to the plant and the beverage produced from its roots...
), and
P. betle (
betelThe Betel is the leaf of a vine belonging to the Piperaceae family, which includes pepper and Kava. It is valued both as a mild stimulant and for its medicinal properties....
).
The obligate and facultative
antAnts are social insects of the family Formicidae , and along with the related wasps and bees, they belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants...
mutualistsMutualism is a biological interaction between two organisms, where each individual derives a fitness benefit . Similar interactions within a species are known as co-operation...
found in some
Piper species have a strong influence on their biology, making them ideal systems for research on the evolution of
symbiosesThe term symbosis commonly describes close and often long-term interactions between different biological species...
and the effect of mutualisms on biotic communities.
Important
secondary metaboliteSecondary metabolites are organic compounds that are not directly involved in the normal growth, development, or reproduction of organisms. Unlike primary metabolites, absence of secondary metabolities does not result in immediate death, but rather in long-term impairment of the organism's...
s found in pepper plants are
piperinePiperine is the alkaloid responsible for the pungency of black pepper and long pepper, along with chavicine . It has also been used in some forms of traditional medicine and as an insecticide. Piperine forms monoclinic needles, is slightly soluble in water and more so in alcohol, ether or...
and
chavicineChavicine is an alkaloid found in pepper. It is one of the four diastereomeric geometric isomers of piperine....
, which were first isolated from
Black PepperBlack pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is a small drupe approximately five millimetres in diameter, dark red when fully mature, containing a single...
. The
piperidinePiperidine is an organic compound with the molecular formula
5NH. This heterocyclic amine consists of a six-membered ring containing five methylene units and one nitrogen atom...
functional groupIn organic chemistry, functional groups are specific groups of atoms within molecules that are responsible for the characteristic chemical reactions of those molecules. The same functional group will undergo the same or similar chemical reaction regardless of the size of the molecule it is a part...
is named after the former, and
piperazinePiperazine is an organic compound that consists of a six-membered ring containing two opposing nitrogen atoms. Piperazine exists as small alkaline deliquescent crystals with a saline taste....
(which is not found in
P. nigrum in noticeable quantities) was in turn named after piperidine.
The significant secondary metabolites of
KavaKava is an ancient crop of the western Pacific. Other names for kava include awa , 'ava , yaqona , and sakau . The word kava is used to refer both to the plant and the beverage produced from its roots...
are
kavalactoneKavalactones are a class of lactone compounds found in the kava shrub.-Compounds:At least 18 different kavalactones have been identified to date, with methysticin being the first identified. Synthetic analogues, such as ethysticin, also exist....
s and flavokawains.
PipermethystinePipermethystine is an alkaloid present in the aerial portions of the kava plant.-Toxicity:Pipermethystine is known to induce hepatoxicity in humans, and is believed to be the cause of liver failure in individuals consuming kava supplements....
is suspected to be the main hepatotoxic compound in this plant's stems and leaves.
Selected species
The largest number of
Piper species are found in the Americas (about 700 species), with about 300 species from Southern Asia. There are smaller groups of species from the South Pacific (about 40 species) and Africa (about 15 species). The American, Asian, and South Pacific groups each appear to be monophyletic; the affinity of the African species is unclear.
Some species are sometimes
segregatedIn taxonomy, a segregate, or a segregate taxon is created when a taxon is split off, from another taxon. This other taxon will be better known, usually bigger, and will continue to exist, even after the segregate taxon has been split off...
into the genera
Pothomorphe,
Macropiper,
Ottonia,
Arctottonia,
Sarcorhachis,
Trianaeopiper, and
Zippelia, but other sources keep them in
Piper.
Piper aggregatum and
P. fasciculatum are actually
Lacistema aggregatum, an entirely unrelated angiosperm from the family
LacistemataceaeLacistemataceae is a family of flowering plants, consisting 2 genera, Lacistema Sw. and Lozania Mutis ex Caldas .- Family Common Name :Waits Numi
...
.
External links