Piper aduncum (Spiked Pepper)

Botanical names: Piper aduncum, Piper angustifolium, Piper elongatum

Common names: Spiked Pepper, Higuillo de Hoja, Matico

Family: Piperaceae

Origin: South and Central America

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.

Similar plants: Piper aduncum (Spiked Pepper)

• Piper auritum (Root Beer Plant)
• Piper betle (Betel leaf)
• Piper blattarum (Higuillo)
• Piper longum (Bengal Pepper)
• Piper magnificum (Lacquered Peppertree)
• Piper methysticum (Kava)
• Piper nigrum (Pepper)
• Piper ornatum (Celebes pepper)
• Piper peltatum (Pakina)
• Piper retrofractum (Long Pepper)