Pipers, the Pepper Plants

Piper nigrum (Black Pepper), the one that is used more frequently than salt or sugar!

by Alex Butova, the Witch of Herbs and Cats

...Who doesn't know Black Pepper? Every household has a pepper shaker, even if they are not fans of spicy food. But do you know where black pepper comes from? Certainly, from a plant. But not from the same plant that gives us Chili pepper! You will be surprised to know that Black pepper along with its other spicy relatives, belong to the same family as a Peperomia houseplant! In the 16th century, people began using name pepper to also mean the unrelated New World Chili pepper (genus Capsicum of family Solanaceae). Piper's spiciness is due to the chemical compound piperine, which is a different kind of spicy from the capsaicin characteristic of Chili peppers...
Today we will tell you more about the most interesting and useful species - Piper nigrum (Black Pepper), Piper betle (Betel Leaf), Piper sarmentosum (Lalot), and Piper auritum (false Kava-Kava, or Root Beer Plant).

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Piper auritum (false Kava-Kava, or Root Beer Plant) - the most useful especially in Mexican cuisine

Piper betle (Betel Leaf), popular Indian herb that brings you health and happiness...

Easy Sunday Morning Deals: Red Peppers and Hot Pepper Kit

It's time for our favorite day and another Easy stroll through Top Tropicals' Garden with savings of 50% and MORE! We're counting down to 2022 and this is our last sale of the year. There's still a few days remaining for you to receive 20% off savings on any order over $75! See discount code for this extended sale at the end of this email.

Saving on your favorite plants is Easy.
Easy like Sunday Morning...

Photo above: Holmskioldia sanguinea - Chinese hat, Holiday bloomer, covered with flowers from late fall through Winter.

This week we celebrate Beautiful Red Peppers and bring the heat with our Hot Pepper Kit:

The Biquinho Pepper and the Wiri Wiri Pepper
50% OFF and MORE!

Biquinho... Wiri Wiri... sounds like an exotic island, and these rare peppers will bring you the combination of the no-heat, yet intense fruity habanero flavor of the Biquinho with the hot and flavorful taste Bang! of the Wiri Wiri.

Hot Pepper Kit - Biquinho Wiri Wiri

For this Easy Sunday we have priced these at incredible savings:
The Biquinho Pepper regularly $39, is on Easy Sunday sale for only $19
The Wiri Wiri Pepper, regularly $49, is on Easy Sunday Sale for only $24 .
Combine the two for your own Hot Pepper Kit and save even more, only $34 for the set!

Biquinho Pepper

Biquinho's oddly shaped bright orange to finally red fruits are prolifically produced along the branches of compact plants. What separates this variety from others is its unique flavor which packs quite a bang! Not because of its heat, but because of its intense fruity habanero flavor.

Wiri Wiri Pepper

The Wiri Wiri pepper from Guyana is the illustrious gem; hard sought and rarely found. What makes it so much different than any other hot pepper? Hot? It is not just about heat, it is about flavor! Guyanese dinners will only take one of those meals for you to never forget! The secret of their food is the flavor, and one of the cornerstone ingredients in many of their dishes is the Wiri pepper. The Guyanese population claim that it is not just a key ingredient to their diet, but also to why they are so good looking, live so long, and have such great skin.

Remember, the Easy Sunday special and the 20% off for eligible orders will expire on Wednesday December 22nd. Limited availability, hurry up!

For 20% off - use code YEAREND20

Enjoy your Hot Deals!

New Video:
Peanut Butter Tree

For our most recent Easy Sunday Deal we featured Peanut Butter Tree and Blackberry Jam Fruit, and guess what - within just a few hoursday we almost ran out! Now that most of our customers have these plants, you've started asking how to grow them. So today we will share this new video with you - how to grow Peanut Butter Tree.
And if you missed the Easy Sunday Sale - we still have a few plants left.
See also Article: Bunchosia - Peanut Butter Fruit Tree.

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Stay updated with TopTropicals Videos by subscribing to our channel at YouTube.com/TopTropicals and get our latest video news of what is fruiting and blooming!

Sunday Breakfast with Peanut Butter and Blackberry Jam...

It's time for our favorite day and another Easy stroll through Top Tropicals' Garden with savings of 50% and MORE! What a wonderful way to start the day.

Speaking of wonderful, is there any memory as wonderful as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich from back in the day?! PB&J's, a true Classic, easy, savory and delicious and a universal favorite... And for a truly Top Tropicals variation of the Classic sandwich, have we got something special for you...
Bunchosia argentea and Randia Formosa. OK, we admit it may not roll off the tongue quite as easily as PB&J, but your tongue and taste buds will be thankful for the delicious flavors of the Peanut Butter Fruit Tree - Bunchosia argentea, and Blackberry Jam Fruit - Randia formosa.

Combine the rich and creamy delicious Peanut Butter with the not too sweet and fresh pulp of the Blackberry Jam Fruit and you have a unique and tasty combination destined to be a classic of its own while making your garden look even more beautiful!

Saving on your favorite plants is Easy.
Easy like Sunday Morning...

For this Easy Sunday we have priced these at incredible savings:
The Peanut Butter Tree, regularly $49, is on Easy Sunday sale for only $24
The Blackberry Jam, regularly $39, is on Easy Sunday Sale for only $19

Classic Combination

Combine the two for your own Classic Combination and save even more, instead of full price $88, it's only only $39 for the set!

Blackberry Jam Fruit

Randia formosa - Blackberry jam fruit, Jasmin de Rosa - fragrant white flowers of this Gardenia relative and edible fruit that tastes like blackberry jam... Kids love the fruit! Many claim that it's even better than preserves. This exotic shrub will fruit in a container within a year and produces as many as 25 to 30 fruits at a time. It is relatively cold hardy, blooms for a few months in the fall and winter, so fruiting and flowering can be enjoyed when many other plants are dormant.

Picture of 2 y.o. plant full of fragrant flowers, ready to set fruit:

Peanut Butter Tree

Bunchosia argentea - Peanut Butter Tree.
One of the most fascinating exotic fruit, as amazing as Miracle fruit, Peanut Butter Fruit is loved by both kids and adults. Yes, it tastes exactly like peanut butter! Sweet, soft pulp with peanut flavor. The tree is small in size, grows 10-15 ft max, or can be kept as a bush. Starts fruiting within 2-3 years from seed! Keep it in a pot if you have limited space, it can be grown indoors, too. The fruit can be eaten fresh or made into milk shakes. Very rare in cultivation, and relatively cold hardy.

Picture of 2 y.o. tree full of fruit:

Remember, the special prices are good for only 24 hours and expire Monday morning at 7 am EST.
Limited to availability, while supply lasts, hurry up!

Enjoy!

Philodendrons: from the Magic Rainforest...

by Alex Butova, the Witch of Herbs and Cats

...Tropical rainforests have been called the "jewels of the Earth" and the "world's largest pharmacy", because over one quarter of natural medicines have been discovered there... One of the most excellent representative of this green world is a Philodendron... Taxonomically, the genus Philodendron is still poorly known, with many undescribed species...
...Philodendron care is easy because if you watch for the signals, the plant will tell you exactly what it needs. Even inexperienced houseplant owners will have no trouble growing philodendron plants because the plants adapt readily to conditions inside the home. This makes learning how to care for a philodendron incredibly simple...

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