AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HORTICULTURE. 



147 



Piper continued. 



stamens two to four, rarely five or many ; spikes peduncu- 

 late or rarely sab-sessile. Leaves alternate, entire or 

 (in one species) trifid, stalked; stipules adherent to the 

 leaf-stalk, or opposite, and deciduous. Few of the 

 species have any horticultural importance, but some of 

 them are of great economic value. The Pepper of com- 



'^Xf 



Piper continued. 

 P. Betle. Betel Pepper. JL, catkins 

 peduncled, greatly enlarged in fruit, p 

 distichous, cordate-ovate, 4in. to Tin. long, 

 oblique at base ; petioles rounded, stipuled wnea yoonc. 

 trailing or climbing to a great height. East Indies, 1804 

 This species yiel the 8 Betel fiaf of thesSth Asiatic.^ 

 almost as extensive an article of commerce a* Tobacco fa 

 the West (B.M.3132.) 



FIG. 189. BRAKCH OP PIPER PORPHTROPHTLLUIL 



merce {P. nwrrum) is imported in enormous quantities. 

 It is also employed as an acrid stimulant in cases of im- 

 paired digestion, and it has been recommended, in cases 

 of ague, to prevent the paroxysm. P. nigrum and the 

 rest of the stove species grow freely in a well-drained, 

 rich, loamy soil The others thrive in almost any soil, 

 in a cooler temperature. All are propagated by cuttings 

 of the half-ripened shoots, inserted in sandy soil, under 

 a bell glass. 



P. borneense (Bornean). L large, of a rich dark green, with 

 broad but faint silvery-grey stripes between the eleven 

 rugose and glabrous above, hairr-pubesce 

 hairy. Borneo, 1882. A dwarf, store, h 



stove plant. 



shaded with metallic 

 ate green, mottled with white 

 . , 187& A distinct and splendid 



(L EL 239.) SYJ.S. ArtanUte decurrent and A. 



P. eyofilnnm aureum-pictnm (tall, golden-painted).* I. with a 

 large, creamy blotch, broadly ovate-cordate, acuminate, iin. to 



