Scientific Name
Other Names
Life Form
Family
Food, Medicine
India
It occurs naturally in evergreen forests that are very humid and mountainous at altitudes of 500-1500 m asl.
Known as the "King of Spices", once so valuable that it was used as currency and offered as tribute in ancient times.
It is a flowering vine cultivated for its fruit.
It is a perennial woody vine that grows up to 4 m in height, using supporting trees, poles, or trellises. It is a spreading vine that readily roots where trailing stems touch the ground.
The leaves are alternate, entire, 5-10 cm long, and 3-6 cm broad.
Small flowers are produced on pendulous spikes 4-8 cm long at the leaf nodes, which lengthen to 7-15 cm as the fruit matures.
The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is a small drupe about five millim in diameter, dark red when fully mature, containing a single seed.
Flowering: Mid-July