Lizard's tail pepper
Piper peltatum

Family: Piperaceae

What it is like

An erect shrub. It has a few branches. It can grow to 2.5 m tall. The stems are cylinder shaped and tapering and with a white powder on the surface. They are swollen at the nodes. The leaves are alternate and have long leaf stalks. They are broadly heart shaped and the leaf stalk joins away from the edge of the leaf. They taper to a short tip. They are a pale green above and whitish underneath. They are 15-50 cm across. The leaf stalk forms a sheath at the base. The flowering shoots occur singly in the axils of the leaves and develop as 7-32 spikes. The fruit are small berries with gland dots over them.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows throughout the tropics. In Indonesia it grows from sea level to 1,000 m above sea level.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Asia, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Caribbean, Central America (country/location of origin), Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba (country/location of origin) Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guianas, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Jamaica (country/location of origin), Lesser Antilles, Liberia, Mexico (country/location of origin), Nicaragua, North America, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, SE Asia, South America, Suriname, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuela, West Africa, West Indies (country/location of origin)

How it is used for food

The young leaves are boiled or steamed and eaten with rice. The leaves are used for wrapping fish that are roasted in the ashes. The sweet ripe fruit are eaten especially by children.

The ripe fruit are eaten by children.

Edible parts

Leaves, fruit

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Bulput, Caisimon, Gedebong, Kalamata, Natsampar, Sikatara, Ugudi bagasu, Wenye-leh

Synonyms

Heckeria peltata Kunth.; Lepianthes peltata (L.) Raf.; Potomorphe dussi Trel.; Pothomorphe pelatata (L.) Miq.; and several others