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Piper (Old Latinname akin)

(old Latinname, akin to the Greek Peperi, and Sanscrit Pipala). Pepper. Including Artanthe, Chavica, Cubeba, Pothomorphe, &c. ORD. Piperaceae. A vast genus (upwards of 600 species have been described) of stove, rarely nearly hardy, shrubs, sometimes climbing, rarely trees or tall herbs, with branches often articulated at the nodes; they are broadly dispersed over the warmer regions of the globe, and are very numerous in tropical America. Flowers hermaphrodite or unisexual, densely cylindrical-spicate or rarely sub-racemose, subtended by peltate, adnate, or concave bracts; perianth none; stamens two to four, rarely five or many; spikes pedunculate or rarely sub-sessile. Leaves alternate, entire or (in one species) trifid, stalked; stipules adherent to the leaf-stalk, or opposite, and deciduous. Few of the species have any horticultural importance, but some of them are of great economic value. The Pepper of commerce (P. nigrum) is imported in enormous quantities. It is also employed as an acrid stimulant in cases of impaired digestion, and it has been recommended, in cases of ague, to prevent the paroxysm. P. nigrum and the rest of the stove species grow freely in a well-drained, rich, loamy soil. The others thrive in almost any soil, in a cooler temperature. All are propagated by cuttings of the half-ripened shoots, inserted in sandy soil, under a bell glass.

P. Betle. Betel Pepper. fl., catkins opposite the leaves, peduncled, greatly enlarged in fruit, pendent. l. alternate, distichous, cordate-ovate, 4in. to 7in. long, acuminated at apex, oblique at base; petioles rounded, stipuled when young. Stems trailing or climbing to a great height. East Indies, 1804. Stove. This species yields the Betel Leaf of the South Asiatics--almost as extensive an article of commerce as Tobacco is in the West. (B. M. 3132.) P. borneense (Bornean). l. large, of a rich dark green, with broad but faint silvery-grey stripes between the eleven nerves, rugose and glabrous above, hairy-pubescent beneath. Stem thick, hairy. Borneo, 1882. A dwarf, stove, herbaceous species.

P. decurrens (decurrent).* l. green, shaded with metallic iridescence, large. Stem stout, pale green, mottled with white spots and black lines. Columbia, 1876. A distinct and splendid stove plant. (I. H. 239.) SYNS. Artanthe decurrens and A. magnifica.

P. excelsum aureum-pictum (tall, golden-painted).* l. with a large, creamy blotch, broadly ovate-cordate, acuminate, 3in. to 5in. long; petioles 1in. to 2in. long, winged by the adnate stipules at their bases. New Zealand. A very aromatic, greenhouse bush or small tree.

P. Futokadsura (Futokadsura).* fl. greenish, succeeded by bright red fruit. l. ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, entire, about 3in. broad, glabrous. Branches slender. Japan, 1869. A remarkable, nearly hardy, deciduous shrub, very like P. nigrum.

P. nigrum. Black, or Common Pepper. fl., catkins 3in. to 6in. long. fr. first green, then red, afterwards black. l. 4in. to 6in. long, alternate, distichous, broadly ovate, acuminate; petioles rounded, 1/2in. to nearly 1in. long. Stem trailing or climbing, flexuous. East Indies, 1790. The fruit of this species forms the well-known condiment. White Pepper is the same fruit, but deprived of its external coat. (B. M. 3139; B. M. Pl. 245.) P. porphyrophyllum (purple-leaved).* l. cordate-orbicular, shortly cuspidate, 4in. to 6in. long, 3 1/2in. to 5in. broad, rich deep bronzy-green above, beautifully marked with numerous, small, pink spots, which are thickly clustered along the course of the nerves, and a few scattered between them; under surface dull purple. Malay Peninsula (?). Stove climber. See Fig. 189. (F. d. S. 1491; R. H. 1883, 560.) SYN. Cissus porphyrophyllus, of gardens. P. rubronodosum (red-noded). l. deep sap-green, when young frosted over with silver-grey; petioles pubescent. Stems fleshy, scabrous, red at the nodes. Columbia, 1877. A distinct, stove shrub.