Long Pepper

The spike-like cluster of fruits of Piper longum, also known as Indian long pepper; pippali; pipalli. It is related to pepper, cubeb.

Overview

LONG PEPPER is a culinary, and medicinal spice, cultivated for its fruit. It is yielded from the plant Piper longum L., a climbing perennial or subshrub in the Piperaceae family, growing in temperate biome, with a native range of E. Himalaya to China (S. Yunnan) and Indo-China.¹

It is used primarily in South and Souteast Asian cuisine; Ayurveda and TCM. Its aroma is described as pungent, peppery, with a heat index of 4-9.²

See more in ( Citation: POWO, 2024 POWO (2024). Plants of the world online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved from http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/ ; Citation: Petruzzello, 2021 Petruzzello, M. (2021). List of herbs and spices. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/list-of-herbs-and-spices-2024392 ; Citation: Wyk, 2014 Wyk, B. (2014). Culinary herbs and spices of the world. University of Chicago Press, joint publication with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. ; Citation: Dalby, 2000 Dalby, A. (2000). Dangerous tastes: the story of spices. University of California Press. ; Citation: Hill, 2004 Hill, T. (2004). The contemporary encyclopedia of herbs and spices: Seasonings for the global kitchen. J. Wiley. ; Citation: Anderson, 2023 Anderson, I. (2023). The history and natural history of spices: the 5000-year search for flavour. The History Press. )

Distribution

Native and introduced habitats of Piper longum³

Native areas:       China South-Central, Assam, Bangladesh, East Himalaya, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Nicobar Is., Thailand, Vietnam

Introduced areas: Hainan, China Southeast, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Malaya, Philippines

Bibliography