Shrubby Pepper
Piper umbellatum

Family: Piperaceae

What it is like

A small shrub. It is erect and 1-2 m high. The stems are thick, strong and with lines along them. The leaf stalk is 15-25 cm long. The leaf blade is oval and 17-37 cm long by 15-32 cm wide. They are like a membrane. They have brown glands. The base is deeply heart shaped. There is a sharp tip. There are 11-13 veins. The flowers have both sexes. The spikes are 2-7 together in clusters on short stalks in the axils of leaves. The spikes are 7-12 cm long.

There are between 1000-2000 Piper species. They are mostly in the tropics.

Where it is found

It is a tropical plant. It needs a sheltered position and moist, well drained soil. It grows within wet places in the forests at about 300 m in Taiwan. In Zimbabwe it grows between 400-1,200 m above sea level. In Nigeria it grows to 1,830 m above sea level.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Asia, Australia, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Caribbean, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Central America, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo DR, Congo R, Costa Rica, Cuba (country/location of origin), Dominican Republic, East Africa, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial-Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kenya, Leeward Is., Lesser Antilles (country/location of origin), LIberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North America, Pacific, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Reunion, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, SE Asia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, South America (country/location of origin), Sri Lanka, Sudan, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad-Tobago, Uganda, USA, Venezuela, Vietnam, West Africa, West Indies (country/location of origin), Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

The leaves are eaten raw or cooked as a flavouring. They are used for wrapping other dishes. They have a peppery taste. The leaves and young flowers are cooked with fish. The fruit are eaten. The bark is used as a condiment.

It is cultivated.

Edible parts

Leaves, fruits, flowers, bark, vegetable, spice, ash - salt

How it is grown

Plants can be grown from seed and cuttings. Stem cuttings with roots at the nodes can be used.

Its other names

Local names

Amebume, Amuaha, Blata, Bogolo, Bumbu, Capeba, Cow-foot leaf, Da hu jiao, Dombo, Gufgafa, Gunjo, Ibulabondo, Itolombo, Kambo, Kilemba kimfinda, Labalaba, Lembe, Malemba lemba, Mambogeah, Mariapanga, Membefeh, Muengeleka mfinda, Namabondo, Natsamak, Natsamar, Ndembelembe, Ogach, Pariparoba, Timizi, Ucheng-uchengan

Synonyms

Heckeria subpeltatum (Willd.) Kunth.; Heckeria umbellata Kunth.; Lepianthes umbellatum (L.) Rafinesque; Piper postelsianum Maxiowicz; Piper subpeltatum Willd.; Piper umbellatum var. subpeltatum (Willd.) C DC; Pothomorphe subpeltata (Willd.) Miquel; Pothomorphe umbellatum (L.) Miquel; and others