TROPICAL PLANT ENCYCLOPEDIA

Piper aduncum, Piper angustifolium, Piper elongatum, Spiked Pepper, Higuillo de Hoja, Matico

Piper aduncum, Piper angustifolium, Piper elongatum

Spiked Pepper, Higuillo de Hoja, Matico
Family: Piperaceae
Origin: South and Central America
Small tree 10-20 ftSemi-shadeFull sunRegular waterEthnomedical plant.
Plants marked as ethnomedical and/or described as medicinal, are not offered as medicine but rather as ornamentals or plant collectibles.
Ethnomedical statements / products have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. We urge all customers to consult a physician before using any supplements, herbals or medicines advertised here or elsewhere.

Small tree to 7 m tall, with short silt roots and soft, brittle wood; foliage and twigs aromatic. Branches erect, but with drooping twigs and swollen, purplish nodes. Leaves alternate, distichous, elliptic, 12-22 cm long, shortly petiolate; lamina scabrid above, with sunken nerves, softly hairy beneath. Inflorescence a leaf-opposed, curved spike on a 12-17 cm peduncle, white to pale yellow, turning green with maturity. Flowers crowded in regular transverse ranks. Fruit a 1-seeded berry, blackish when ripe.

Used as a aromatic stimulant, against gonorrhea, leukorrhea, piles, hemorrhages and dyspepsia.

Propagation: seeds and cuttings.

Culture: full sun / light shade, sandy loam soil, needs high humidity.

Plant in frost free areas.


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Link to this plant:
https://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/piper_aduncum.htm