Mountain Pepper, Litsea
Litsea cubeba
Family: Lauraceae
What it is like
Litsea cubeba is a deciduous Shrub growing to 7 m (23ft). It is in flower from March to April, and the seeds ripen from August to September. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs). Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.
Height (m): 7
Where it is found
Sunny slopes, thickets, sparse forests, roadsides, watersides, 500 - 3200 metres in Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan, Zhejiang.
E. Asia - China, Japan, Indian subcontinent, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia.
Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed
Countries/locations it is found in
China; Taiwan, Province of China; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Cambodia, Bhutan; Indonesia; Myanmar; India; Japan, Asia, Bhutan, Burma, China, Himalayas, Indochina, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Northeastern India, SE Asia, Sikkim, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam,
How it is used
Food
Rating: 2
The fragrant flowers are eaten or used as a flavouring for tea. The fruits are eaten as a vegetable side dish, and are a common substitute for cubeb pepper (Piper cubeba). The fruit, bark and leaves are often used by the Karen people of N. Thailand as a curry ingredient in a dish called 'Kaeng Nuea'. The roots are cooked as a flavouring in foods.
Oil: Oil
Root: includes bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes etc.
Condiment: the various plants that are used as flavourings, either as herbs, spices or condiments.
Tea: the various herb teas that can be used in place of tea, plus the genuine article.
Medicine
Rating: 2
Antiphlogistic, expectorant. The root, stem, leaves and fruits are all used as medicine for eliminating windevil and dispelling the cold in the body, allaying swelling and pain. The fruit is used as medicine is known as 'Bi Cheng Qie'.
Antiphlogistic: Reduces inflammation.
Expectorant: Clears phlegm from the chest by inducing coughing.
Parasiticide: Treats external parasites such as ringworm This should perhaps be joined with Parasiticide in
Other
Rating: 4
Agroforestry Uses: Grown as a shade tree in plantations. It is planted as a wind-break in tea plantations. A fast-growing pioneer species, usually gregarious in open areas, is found along the edge of tropical rain forests and the edges of both lower and upper montane forests. It can be used at the early stages in reforestation projects, and would make a good choice when establishing a woodland garden. The tree is planted as a pioneer species in northern Thailand in reforestation projects to restore native woodland - it is planted in degraded woodland and open areas in a mix with various other species that all have the ability to grow fast; produce dense, weed-suppressing crowns; and attract seed-dispersing wildlife, particularly birds and bats. Other Uses: The flowers, leaves, and fruit walls are all sources of essential oils. These oils are processed for citral and are also used for their fragrance and medicinal properties. Citral is used for the production of ionones and formerly vitamin A and in essences for cosmetics, foodstuffs and tobacco products. Because of its pleasant citrus-like smell and taste it is a modifier for lemon and lime flavours and a general freshener in fruit flavours The main essential oil, known as 'may-chang oil' is obtained from the fruit. (Though one report says it is obtained from the flowers.) This oil is used in perfumery and is also the main source of citral, for which it is commercially cultivated. In perfumery, may chang oil is used as an alternative for verbena oil and lemongrass oil in colognes, household sprays, soaps and air-fresheners. An extract of the fruit is used as an ingredient in commercial cosmetic preparations as a perfume. The essential oil obtained from the fruit is used as an ingredient in commercial cosmetic preparations as a masking agent and perfume. An extract of the leaves is used as an ingredient in commercial cosmetic preparations as an antioxidant. The seed contains a fatty oil, from which lauric acid and capric acid are produced. The wood is used for general furniture-making and construction.
Cosmetic: Used to improve the physical appearence of a person.
Essential: Essential oils that are used in perfumery, medicines, paint solvents, insect repellents etc.
Furniture: A few miscellaneous uses that do not fit easily into other headings.
Oil: Vegetable oils have many uses, as lubricants, lighting, soap and paint making, waterproofing etc. This does not include the edible oils unless they are also mentioned as having other uses.
Parasiticide: Kills external body parasites such as hair lice.
Pioneer: Plants, usually trees and shrubs, that can be used to reforest land.
Shelterbelt: Wind resistant plants than can be grown to provide shelter in the garden etc.
Wood: A list of the trees and shrubs that are noted for having useful wood.
Attracts Wildlife: Plants noted for attracting wildlife
Scented Plants: Plants noted for their scent
How it is grown
A fast-growing tree. Trees produced from cuttings can commence bearing fruit when just 2 - 3 years old. All parts of the plant have a pleasant, lemon-like aroma. A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if seed is required. There are also forms of the plant with functioning hermaphrodite flowers. We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain. However, judging by its native range, it could succeed outdoors at least in the milder areas of the country. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus.
Propagating it: Seed -
Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Sunny Edge;
Habit: Shrub
Hardiness: 10-12
Growth:
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: Semi-shade, no shade
Moisture: Moist
Things to keep in mind
Its other names
Local names
Litsea, Dieng-si-sing, Earking, Entsurem, Jayar, Mang tang, Mejankeri, Ser-nam, Sernam, Shan ji jiao, Siltimur, Siqbil, Tanghaercherkung, Terhilsok, Zeng-jil,