226 



PLANTS AND MAN 



is cultivated in India, Ceylon, the South Sea Islands, and Africa. 

 Spike-like clusters of small flowers mature to produce small red 

 berry-like fruits. Upon drying, the fleshy red covering becomes 

 black, and the entire dried fruit constitutes the commercial 

 "pepper-corns." These are ground to yield the familiar black 



pepper. The milder white pepper is pre- 

 pared by removing, either before or after 

 drying, the outer covering. This leaves 

 the grayish globular seed, which yields 

 the desired product when ground. 



Red pepper, often known as Cay- 

 enne, chili pepper, or capsicum, is trop- 

 ical America's chief contribution to the 

 spice plants. Several plant species, mem-jjj 

 bers of the Nightshade Family (see fig.^w 

 121) and therefore relatives of the tomato 

 and potato, native to the West Indies as 

 well as tropical America, yield the 

 orange-red fruits which are so lavishly 

 used in the highly pungent Mexican 

 dishes like tamales and chili con carne. 

 The seeds as well as the surrounding 

 narrowly cone shaped pods contain the 

 pungent principle. The fruits are dried, 

 and used whole or powdered. In addition to its many culinary 

 uses, capsicum is used in medicine as a stimulant and to prevent 

 fever, and in beverages such as ginger ale to give the desired 

 pungency. 



Mustards, although grown mainly for their seeds, sometimes 

 have their tops used as "greens" or salad herbs. Two kinds of 

 mustard, black and white, both members of the Mustard Family, 

 are widely grown in temperate regions of the world for the seeds. 

 Both are annual herbaceous plants and tend to escape from 

 cultivation, often becoming troublesome weeds. Ground seeds of 

 both plants are used in the preparation of salad dressings, pickles, 

 sardines, and pastes, with salt and vinegar added. In medicine, 

 mustard and warm water are used to induce vomiting, and a 

 volatile oil extracted from the ground seed is used as a counter- 



F I G . 16 . — P e p p e r 

 comes from small berry- 

 like fruits whose fleshy red 

 covering becomes black 

 upon drying. 



