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DESCRIPTIVE BOTANY. 



PIPER, Linn. Flowers without perianth ; stamens 2 to 4, occasion- 

 ally 5, rarely more; filaments short; ovary 1-celled ; stigmas 2 to 5. 

 Fruit, a small berry, globular or egg-shaped ; climbing shi'ubs, with 

 alternate, entire leaves, which are strongly veined or nerved. 



1. P. betel, Linn. (Betel Pepper.) Stem climbing, 5 to 8 feet high, or long, 

 knotted at the nodes. Leaves opposite, 5 inches long, ovate, acuminate, uneven 

 or obhquely cordate at base, 5-7-veined, leathery, glossy above. 



There are over 600 species of the Piper, but this and the following are the 

 most important. 



Geography. — The Piper betel is a tropical and subtropical plant, and is 

 distributed throughout the regions of southern Asia. 



Etymology and History. — Piper and pepper are derived from the Greek 

 iriiTipi and TreVept, pepper. Betel, the specific name, is the Malabar name of the 



plant. It is native to Java, and is cultivated 

 wherever the betel-nut grows. 



Use. — The leaves are sparingly sprinkled 

 with shell-lime, and then wrapped around 

 slices of betel-nut, and in that state they 

 are used as a masticatory. They are also 

 used for the same purpose without the 

 betel-nut. 



Medical practitioners among the Hindus 

 recommend their use in the morning fasting, 

 also after meals and on retiring. The prop- 

 erties of the betel-pepper are aromatic, car- 

 minative, stimulant, and astringent, and it 

 is said to be a specific for headache. 



In connection with the betel-nut, it is used 

 by about one tenth of tlie whole human race, 

 yet is not an important article of foreign 

 Piper nigrum (Black Pepper). commerce. 



2. P. nigrum, L. (Black Pepper.) Stem climbing, 20 to 30 feet long, 

 with jointed or swelled processes at the nodes, branching in forks. Leaves 

 broadly ovate, lanceolate, 5-7-veined, petioled, and 3 to 6 inches long, dark- 

 green. Flowers in slender spikes, opposite the leaves, 3 to 6 inches long, 

 greenisli. Fruit, a globular, 1-celled berry, as large as a middling-sized 

 pea, sessile, in loose clusters, to the number of 20 to 30 on a drooping stalk ; 

 the berries are first green, then red, and when ripe, yellow. A perennial shrub. 

 This species produces both the black and the white pepper of commerce. 



Var. longum produces a fruit similar to the P. nigrum, but inferior in strength 

 and flavor, and is used to adulterate the P. nigrum. 



Geography.— The home of the pepper-plant is southern Asia and the adja- 

 cent isles. T'epper has been an important article of commerce from the 

 earliest times of communication between the East Indies and Europe, and was 

 cultivated in southern India, Java, Sumatra, and Malabar, but especially at 

 Bantam, in Java, whence the earliest shipments were made. 



Etymology. — The specific name, nigrum, from the Latin, signifying " black," 

 is due to the color of tlie berry when fit for market. 



History. — It was known to the early botanists, Theophrastus, Dioscorides, 

 and Pliny. It was in early times carried by caravans through lower Arabia 



