Piper blattarum

• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Description

Family Piperaceae

Herbs, shrubs , or climbers , rarely trees , usually aromatic . Vascular bundles ± scattered in transverse section in a monocotyledonlike manner. Tip of stem sometimes enclosed within a stipulelike sheath , the prophyll, sometimes adnate to petiole , absent in Peperomia. Leaves alternate, often opposite or whorled in Peperomia, simple , base often asymmetric , palmately or pinnately veined. Inflorescence a pedunculate spike, rarely grouped into an umbel, rarely a raceme (in Zippelia), leaf-opposed or axillary , rarely terminal . Flowers small, bisexual , hermaphroditic , polygamous or dioecious, nearly always sessile; bracts small, usually peltate or cupular, usually without perianth. Stamens 1-10; filaments usually free ; anthers 2-locular, distinct or connate , longitudinally dehiscent . Gynoecium 2-5-carpellate, connate; ovary superior, 1-locular, ovule 1, orthotropous ; stigmas 1-5, sessile or with very short styles. Fruit a small drupe or nutlet ; pericarp fleshy , thin or dry, sometimes with sticky papillae (in Peperomia) or glochidiate spines (in Zippelia) . Seeds with copious starchy perisperm and a minute embryo embedded in small endosperm.

About eight or nine genera and 2000-3000 species: tropical and subtropical regions, mostly in North and South America, rather fewer in Asia, a few in Africa; three genera and 68 species (36 endemic, four introduced ) in China.[1]

Genus Piper

Small trees , shrubs , subshrubs , or rarely herbs, erect or reclining , glabrous or pubescent . Leaves alternate, pubescent. Leaf blade conspicuously pinnately veined, lateral veins ascending-arching, connected by fainter, ladderlike, tertiary veins. Spikes opposite leaves, ascending-arching, densely flowered, distally drooping . Flowers sessile, borne on surface of rachis; floral bracts fringed with whitish hairs ; stamens 2[-6]; stigmas [2-]3[-4]. Fruits sessile, oblong (inversely pyramidal-3-angled in P. auritum ) ; beak minute.

Species 1000: primarily tropics and subtropics.

This genus includes Piper nigrum Linnaeus, the source of black pepper and white pepper.[2]

Physical Description

Biology

Reproduction

Duration: Perennial

Taxonomy

Synonyms

Enckea blattarum (Spreng.) Kunth • Peperomia Blattarum • Peperomia blattarum (Spreng.) A. Dietr.

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 15-Mar-2000

Similar Species

Members of the genus Piper

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 44 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

P. aduncum (Higuillo De Hoja Menuda) · P. aduncum var. exotum (Spiked Pepper) · P. amalago (Higuillo De Limon) · P. amalago var. amalago (Spanish-Elder) · P. amalago var. ceanothifolium (Spanish-Elder) · P. amalago var. medium (Spanish-Elder) · P. angustifolium (Pepper) · P. arborescens (Lanyu Pepper) · P. attenuatum (Oval-Leaved Pepper Plant) · P. aurantiacum (Orange Pepper Tree) · P. auritum (False Kava-Kava) · P. auritum 'Hoja Santa' (Hoja Santa Pepper) · P. austrosinense (South China Pepper) · P. bambusifolium (Bamboo-Leaved Pepper Plant) · P. betel (Betel Pepper) · P. betle (Betel Leaf) · P. blattarum (Moth Pepper) · P. boehmeriifolium (False Nettle-Leaved Pepper Plant) · P. cubeba (Cubeb) · P. dilatatum (Higuillo) · P. distachyon (Montane Peperomia) · P. glabrescens (Guyanese Pepper) · P. guineense (Pepper) · P. hainanense (Hainan Pepper) · P. hispidum (Jamaican Pepper) · P. jacquemontianum (Caracas Pepper) · P. kadsura (Kadzura Pepper) · P. kadzura (Japanese Pepper) · P. longifolium (Pepper) · P. longum (Indian Long Pepper) · P. magnificum (Lacquered Pepper) · P. magnoliifolium (Spoonleaf Peperomia) · P. marginatum (Marigold Pepper) · P. methysticum (Kava) · P. nigrum (Black Pepper) · P. ornatum (Celebes Pepper) · P. pereskiifolium (Spotted Trunkfish) · P. ponapense (Pepper) · P. puberulum (Downy Pepper) · P. retrofractum (Balinese Pepper) · P. sarmentosum (Chaa-Plu) · P. seychellarum (Seychelles Pepper) · P. swartzianum (Spanish Elder) · P. wichmannii (False Kava (Vanuatu))

More Info

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Further Reading

• An annotated catalogue of types of the University of Illinois mycological collections (ILL) / Urbana: University of Illinois Press, c1997. url p. 212.
• Dedication papers: scientific papers presented at the dedication of the laboratory building and plant houses, April 19-21, 1917. Brooklyn, N.Y.: Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 1918. url p. 39.
• Memoirs / Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Brooklyn, N.Y.: The Garden, 1918-1936. url p. 39.
• The Journal of the Board of Commissioners of Agriculture. San Juan: [Board of Commissioners of Agriculture, 1917]. url p. 242.
• The flora of the American Virgin Islands / N.L. Britton. New York: New York Botanical Garden, 1918. url p. 39.
• The genus Meliola in Porto Rico, including descriptions of sixty-two new species and varieties and a synopsis of all known Porto Rican forms. With five plates. By Frank Lincoln Stevens. Urbana, University of Illinois, 1916 url p. 67.
• Tseng Yung-chien, Chen Pei-shan & Zhu Pei-zhi. 1982. Piperaceae. In: Tseng Yung-chien, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 20(1): 11-78.
• Tseng Yung-chien, Chen Pei-shan & Zhu Pei-zhi. 1982. Piperaceae. In: Tseng Yung-chien, ed., Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 20(1): 11-78.

Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 15, 2012.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 27, 2007:

• Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri Botanical Garden

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2645221
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-18315
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13729483
• Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:680630-1
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 18315
• U.S.D.A. Plant Symbol: PIBL
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 56399

Footnotes

1. Yung-chien Tseng, Nianhe Xia & Michael G. Gilbert "Piperaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 4 Page 110. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
2. "Piper". in Flora of North America Vol. 3. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.