Piper
Sp. Pl. 1: 28. 175.
Gen. Pl. ed. 5, 18. 1754.
| Taxon | Illustrator ⠉ | |
|---|---|---|
 | Peperomia pellucida Peperomia obtusifolia Piper aduncum | John Myers John Myers John Myers |
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.
Distribution
Primarily tropics and subtropics
Discussion
Species 1000 (2 in the flora).
This genus includes Piper nigrum Linnaeus, the source of black pepper and white pepper.
Measurements for spike length in all descriptions include the peduncle.
Selected References
None.
Lower Taxa
Key
| 1 | Leaf blade obliquely rounded to obliquely cuneate at base; petiole not winged. | Piper aduncum |
| 1 | Leaf blade narrowly and deeply obliquely cordate at base; petiole winged at base. | Piper auritum |