PEPEROMIA 



PEPPEE 



127;* 



7. latiidlia, Miq. Stem 10 in. high, decumbent: Ivs. 

 obovate or obtusely ovate, 5-7-nerved, opposite or in 

 whorls of 3, base acute, glabi-ous above, pubescent be- 

 neath ; petiole 7-8 lines long. Sandwich Islands. 

 Monocarpic annual or biennial. 



8. nummularifdlia, HBK. Delicate creeper, with long, 

 thread-like, rooting stems and small orbicular Ivs., pu- 

 berulous or glabrate: Ivs. alternate, ciliate, obscurely 

 palmately 3-nerved, 3-4 lines in diam. Trop. Amer. 

 The above description is from Grisebach. Five other 

 species in the West Indies have the same habit. P. 

 prostrdta, Hort., is probably a syn.,but see P. brevipes. 

 P. prostrata is a stove basket plant figured in G.C. 

 II. 11 :717 and F. 1881, p. 103, with a good-sized petiole. 

 The Ivs. are very small for the genus, and are said not 

 to exceed two-fifths of an inch. Lvs. bordered and 

 nerved with greenish white. Annual. 



9. br6vipes, C. DC. Lvs. alternate, orbiculate, younger 

 ones hirsute, older ones glabrate, ciliate, 1-nerved: style 

 none: berry with a very short stipe. Trop. Amer. 

 The above description from DC. Not advertised, but 

 inserted because Nicholson refers P. prostrata to this 

 species and keeps P. nummularifolia distinct. 



10. pubifolia, Veitch. Perennial creeper of unknown 

 habitat, suitable for hanging baskets. Lvs. small, ovate, 

 marked with a central gray bar. 



P. resedcefldra, Andre, int. in 1865, was " found in all stoves " 

 2 years later and said to be "a plant for the million." It dif- 

 fers from all the above in being a flowering plant rather than 

 a foliage plant, for the Ivs. are merely bordered lighter green 

 and the fls. are about as showy as those of a mignonette, each 

 one 3-4 lines long, and 100 or so in a raceme. Stem 1-1% ft. 

 high, red, forked : Ivs. broadly ovate, cordate. Colombia. 

 B.M. 6619. w. M. 



PEPINO or MELON SHRUB is Solanum muricaium. 



PEPONIA (Greek, melon, gourd). Cucurbit acece. 

 Seven species of tropical perennial herbs, prostrate or 

 scandent, often villous, with fibrous roots: Ivs. lobed or 

 rarely entire, dentate : fls. large, yellow or whitish, 

 monoecious, the males solitary or racemose ; petals 5, 

 free, obovate ; stamens 3; female fls. solitary: fr. large 

 or medium. One species from Madagascar ; the rest 

 African. P. Mackennii was int. in southern California 

 with the remark that it is an immense grower and has 

 thick dark green foliage and yellow fls. ; but it seems to 

 have been lost from the trade for the present. 



Mackennii, Naud. Distinguished from its congeners 

 by the following characters: Ivs. broadly ovate-cordate, 

 5-lobed to the middle: male fls. solitary; calyx-tube 

 subglabrous, narrowed from apex to base. It is hardly 

 scandent, densely villous and the stem grows K-6 ft. 

 long: Ivs. 4 in. long: petals over 1 in. long: fr. oblong- 

 ovoid, about the size of a hen's egg, green at first, then 

 marbled with white, finally all red; pulp orange-col- 

 ored, insipid. Natal. 



PEPPER. The black and white Pepper of commerce 

 are treated under Piper. With American horticultur- 

 ists "Pepper" usually means the red Pepper (Capsicum, 

 which see) of which the green Pepper is merely the 

 unripe stage. 



The red Pepper is doubtless a native of the New 

 World tropics, as there is no record of its having been 

 known prior to the discovery of America. According to 

 Irving's "Life of Columbus," this plant was first men- 

 tioned by Martyr in 1493, who says Columbus brought 

 home "Pepper more pungent than that from Caucasus," 

 evidently comparing it with the black Pepper of com- 

 merce from the oriental countries. It was cultivated by 

 the natives in tropical and southern America before this 

 time, and about a century later Gerarde speaks of its 

 being brought into European gardens from Africa and 

 southern Asia. The ease with which the plant spreads 

 in warm latitudes, together with the increased commer- 

 cial trade immediately following the discovery of Amer- 

 ica, doubtless caused a rapid dissemination through 

 tropical Asia and Africa, where it was supposed by 

 many to be indigenous and from there introduced into 

 European gardens. 



The first record of the use of Pepper is apparently 

 by Chauca, physician to the fleet of Columbus, who in 



1494 alludes to it as a condiment. Writers about a cen- 

 tury later considered it valuable as an aid to digestion 

 and also mentioned its use in dressing meats, dyeing, 

 and other purposes. Medicinally it was much used for 

 various ailments, such as dropsy, colic, ague and tooth- 

 ache, and when mixed with honey and applied exter- 



1719, Pepper. 

 The Ruby King variety. 



nally was used as a remedy for quinsy. A. a later date 

 preparations were given for black vomit and various 

 tropical fevers and for a tonic, also for gout, paralysis and 

 other diseases. Its modern use is largely as a condiment, 

 forming a seasoning in almost every dish eaten by the 

 inhabitants of warm countries. The smaller varieties 

 are mostly used for this purpose. The cayenne Pepper 

 of commerce consists of the small pungent sorts re- 

 duced to a powder. The unground fruit is also made 

 into Pepper sauce of various brands by preserving in 

 brine or strong vinegar. The Tabasco variety furnishes 

 the well-known Tabasco Pepper sauce and Tabasco cat- 

 sup. "Chilli con carnie" consists of the small pungent 

 varieties finely ground and mixed with meat. These hot 

 varieties are often eaten raw by native Mexicans, as we 

 do radishes, and also form an important ingredient of 

 tomales so common in that country and fairly well 

 known in the southern United States. The large, thick- 

 fleshed sweet varieties are desired more by people 

 farther north, who use them in various ways, served 

 like tomatoes in either ripe or green state, with vinegar 

 and salt, or made into mangoes by cutting one side, re- 

 moving seeds and filling with chow-chow pickles. The 

 parts are then tied together, placed in jars with vinegar 

 and kept until wanted. The fruit is often used in stuff- 

 ing pitted olives after being cooked in olive oil. In 

 Spain some are canned after being thus cooked and 

 eaten with French salad dressing. The seed of Peppers 

 is more or less used as a bird food ; and the plants of 

 some varieties, like Little Gem and Celestial, are grown 

 more especially for ornamental purposes. 



Some 30 varieties are recorded by American seeds- 

 men. They differ from one another mainly in the form 

 and pungency of fruit and habit of growth. There are 

 endless forms among Peppers, but certain types are 

 well fixed, as indicated by the botanical varieties under 

 Capsicum. While all kinds are more or less pungent 



