Piper retrofractum Vahl

Javanese long pepper (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Piperales > Piperaceae > Piper

Characteristics

Climbers glabrous except for rachis and stigmas, dioecious. Stems brownish when dry, ca. 2 mm thick, terete, striated. Petiole 5-11 mm, sheathed at base only; leaf blade narrowly elliptic, ovate-oblong, or elliptic, 8.5-16 × 3.2-7.5 cm, papery, glaucous when dry, densely glandular, base with both sides rounded or 1 side slightly tapered and short, tapered and short side sometimes concave to semicordate, ± symmetric to oblique, bilateral difference 0-5 mm, apex shortly acuminate to acute; veins 9-11, rarely more, pinnate, usually 4 or 5 on each side of midvein. Spikes leaf-opposed. Male spikes 5-6.5 cm; peduncle slightly longer than petioles; bracts orbicular, 1-1.2 mm wide, peltate, sessile. Stamens 2 or 3; filaments nearly absent; anthers broadly ellipsoid. Female spikes 3-4 cm × ca. 7 mm; peduncle and bracts as in male spikes. Ovary immersed in rachis; stigmas 3, ovate-acute, recurved. Unripe drupe partly connate to rachis, apex rounded. Fl. May-Jul.
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A climbing shrub. It grows 5-10 m tall. The stem is 3-4 mm across. The leaves are sword shaped and taper to the tip and are unequal at the base. They are 10-12 cm long by 3-4 cm wide. Male and female flowers are on separate plants. Female spikes are 4 cm long while male spikes are 5 cm long. The fruit are oval berries. The spikes are red. Possibly now Piper chaba
Life form -
Growth form herb
Growth support climber
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality dioecy
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 4.0 - 6.5
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
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Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color -
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Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

A tropical plant. It grows on dry soils. It grows in deciduous forests on poor soils up to 600 m above sea level.
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Thickets at low elevations.
Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
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Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

The fruit can be used as a spice. They are dried and then added whole to curries and pickles.
Uses dye food material medicinal poison spice wood
Edible flowers fruits seeds
Therapeutic use Common cold (fruit), Cough (fruit), Digestive system diseases (fruit), Flatulence (fruit), Hemorrhoids (fruit), Parturition (fruit), General tonic for rejuvenation (fruit), Abdominal pain (root), Colic (root), Dyspepsia (root), Hoarseness (root), Aphrodisiac (unspecified), Cancer(Nose) (unspecified), Colic (unspecified), Dyspepsia (unspecified), Flatulence (unspecified), Inertia (unspecified), Osteosis (unspecified), Piles (unspecified), Puerperium (unspecified), Spice (unspecified), Stimulant (unspecified), Toothache (unspecified), Weakness (unspecified), Diaphoretic (unspecified), Stomach (unspecified), Carminative (unspecified), Cramps (unspecified), Digestive (unspecified), Gastralgia (unspecified), Hepatosis (unspecified), Parturition (unspecified), Tonic (unspecified), Tumor(Abdomen) (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Plants can be grown from cuttings. Plants are pruned to make them flower.
Mode cuttings seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
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Optimum temperature (C°) -
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Images

Fruit

Piper retrofractum fruit picture by Noel Dionson (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Piper retrofractum world distribution map, present in China, Indonesia, India, Jamaica, Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Martinique, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Province of China, and Viet Nam

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:683079-1
WFO ID wfo-0001094116
COL ID 4J5MG
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID 630433
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Piper maritimum Piper parvifolium Chavica arnottiana Cubeba chaba Piper palawanum Chavica chaba Chavica maritima Chavica officinarum Chavica parvifolia Chavica retrofracta Piper officinarum Piper retrofractum Piper chaba Amalago antillana Amalago malamiri Chavica labillardierei Piper arnottianum