SECT. II 



PHANEROGAMIA 



553 



embedded in a small endosperm 

 surrounded by a well-developed 

 perisperm. 



The genus Piper includes a large 

 number of shrubby plants of primaeval 

 forests. Piper nigrum, from which the 

 Peppers are derived, is the most im- 

 portant representative. This is a 

 root-climber, native to the Malayan 

 region, but now cultivated through- 

 out the tropics (Fig. 558). The unripe 

 fruits provide black pepper, while 

 white pepper is obtained from the ripe 

 fruits after removal of the outer layers 



of the pericarp. The genus Peperomia 

 A 



557. Piper cubeba. a, Infructeseence ; l>, a 

 male flower ; c, a female flower in longitudinal 

 section ; d, fruit in longitudinal section. OFFI- has hermaphrodite flowers. 

 CIAL. (After BERG and SCHMIDT.) OFFICIAL. Piper nigrum 



and 



Fio. 558. I'i[icr nlgnim. (J nat. size.) 



