4 



PEPEROMIA 



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

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

 whorls of 3, base acute, glabrous above, pubescent be- 

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

 Monocarpic annual or biennial. 



8. nummularifolia, IIBK. Delicate creeper, with long, 

 thread likr. r.".iiM- stvms and small orbicular Ivs., pu- 

 beruliixi- ,,i ^rhilnat.-: Ivs. alternate, ciliate, obscurely 

 palnuitilv :; iH TV, .1, :i-4 lines in diam. Trop. Amer.- 

 The abuvu cksiriptiou is from Grisebach. Five other 

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

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

 P. prosfrota 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. br^vipes, 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, Andr^, 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 lvs. are merely bordered lighter green 

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

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

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

 B.M. 6619. m M 



PEFINO or MELON SHBUB is Solan 



luricatum. 



FEFdNIA (Greek, melon, gourd). Cucurbitctcea. 

 Seven species of tropical perennial herbs, prostrate or 

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

 rarely .ntir.-. d.ntute ; fls. large, yellow or whitish, 

 mono-cious, iIm- in:tlrs solitary or racemose; petals 5, 

 free. i>l"'v;it(.; stain. us 3; female fls. solitary: fr. large 

 or mt'diuiii. (In.- sii.cies from Madagascar; the rest 

 African. P. Jlmkciinii 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 fiom the trade for the present. 



Mack^nnii, Naud. Distinguished from its congeners 

 by the following characters : lvs. 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: lvs. 4 ill. 1..111.': petals over 1 in. long: fr. oblong- 

 ovoid, alii.ut (111' siz,:. ,if a hen's egg, green at first, then 

 marbli'.l wirli wliir.-. finally all red; pulp orange-col- 

 ored, iusipiil. 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 tlii' discnverv of .America. Aivonling to 



ing! 



'Lif 



tioned by Martyr in ll;i:;. wh.. says r..liiiiii.ns l,r..ii^lit 

 home "Pepper iiMi-c- pnn-.'iit tlian iliat l'f..ni i 'an.Msiis," 



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 

 south.-rii Aiia. Til.- .-a-.- witli wlii.-h the plant spreads 





cial 1 



ii.-.liat.-Iy f..il..\viiiu- till- ilisi-overy of Amer- 



tropical Asia and Africa, vvln-i-c 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 



PEPPER 1273 



1414 alludes to it as a condmient Writers about a cen- 

 tui\ 1 itt r L iisikred it i aluable as an aid to digestion 

 111 1 1 ill 1 ti lied its use in dressing nu its dveing. 

 (Ill tl 1 [ ii| St s Medicinally it was mu(_h Used for 

 \ ui u iiln lit such as drops) , colic, ague and tooth- 

 achL, lud wUlu mixed with honey and applied exter- 



'-j:^!^^^^ 



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



preparations were given for black vomit and var 



tropical fevers and for a tonic, also for gout, paiah sis 



other diseases. Its modern use is largely as a condin 



forming a seasoning in almost eveiy dish eattn b\ 



inhabitants of warm countries The smallei ^ an. 



aremostly used for this pill ii.ise Hi. .n.nii. P. 



of commerce consists of tli n II i i i it 



duced to a powder. Th. i 



into Pepper sauce of \ ai i 



brine or strong vinegar '1 ii I 



the well known Tabasco I'l | i i 



sup. "Chilh con carnie " . i i i 



varieties finely ground and n i\ .1 



varieties are often eaten i i\\ I i 



do radishes, and also fmii 



tomales so common in t) 



known in the southern Uii > 



fleshed sweet vaiieties i 



farther north, -who use tin i Ji 



parts are th. n fiH.l f..i;<ther plntd iii Ills ^Mlll \ in, -ar 

 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. Thev differ from one another mainly in the form 

 and pungencv of fruit and habit of growth. There are 

 endless fornis among Peppers, but certain types are 

 well fixed, as indicated by the botanical varieties under 

 Capsicum. While all kinds are more or less pungent 



