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Piper sarmentosum

(Chaa-Plu)

Overview

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Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Chinese:

Jia Ju, Jia Ju Xi Ye Qing Wei Teng, Qing Ju

Common Names in English:

Chaa-Plu

Common Names in Malay:

Bakik (Indonesia), Kado-Kado (Indonesia), Sirih Tanah (Indonesia)

Common Names in Russian:

Perets Díkii

Common Names in Thai:

Chaphulu

Common Names in Vietnamese:

La Lot

Description

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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

Species Piper sarmentosum

Herbs to more than 10 m , mostly creeping along ground , most parts very finely powdery pubescent at least when young, dioecious. Fertile stems ± erect . Petiole 2-5 cm (-10 cm on creeping stems), very finely powdery pubescent; leaf blades toward base of stem ovate to suborbicular , those toward apex of stem smaller, ovate or ovate-lanceolate, 7-14 × 6-13 cm, ± membranous, finely glandular , abaxially finely powdery pubescent along veins, adaxially glabrous , base cordate to rounded , sometimes cuneate on apical branches, ± symmetric , apex acute; veins 7, glaucous when dry, abaxially very prominent , apical pair arising 1-2 cm above base, reaching leaf apex; reticulate veins conspicuous. Spikes leaf-opposed. Male spikes white, 1.5-2.5(-3) cm × 2-3 mm; peduncle to ca. as long as spikes; rachis pubescent; bracts transversely elliptic , 0.5-0.6 mm, peltate, ± sessile. Stamens 2; filaments ca. 2 × as long as anthers ; anthers subglobose. Female spikes 2-5(-8) cm, to 8 mm thick in fruit; peduncle as in male spikes; rachis glabrous; bracts suborbicular, peltate, 1-1.3 mm in diam. Stigmas (3 or) 4(or 5), hispidulous . Drupe subglobose, 4-angled, 2.5-3 mm, partly connate to rachis. Fl. Apr-Nov. [source]

Habitat

Forests or wet places near villages; near sea level to 1000 m (Ref. 110009).

Taxonomy

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Synonyms

C. sarmentosa (Roxburgh) Miquel • Chavica hainana C. de Candolle • Chavica sarmentosa (Roxb.) Miq. • Piper albispicum C. de Candolle • Piper brevicaule C. de Candolle • Piper gymnostachyum C. de Candolle • Piper lolot C. de Candolle • Piper pierrei C. de Candolle • Piper saigonense C. de Candolle.

Notes

Place of publication : Fl. ind. 1:162. 1820

Name verified on 28-May-2002 by ARS Systematic Botanists. Last updated: 28-May-2002

Similar Species

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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

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 15, 2008:

Identifiers

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]
Last Revised: 7/16/2012