CHAP. 
240 SPICES 
intoxicating liquor in the Polynesian Islands, belongs to 
the same genus. 
BLACK PEPPER 
Black pepper is the dried fruit of Piper nigrum, L., 
a native of the Malabar coast of India, whence it has 
been diffused in cultivation in many parts of the world, 
Portion of Flower Spike 
(enlarged). 
Black Pepper. 
but chiefly in the Malayan and Cambodian regions. 
White pepper is obtained from the same plant, being 
merely ripe seed of the black pepper freed from the outer 
coat of skin and pulp. 
DESCRIPTION 
Piper nigrum, L., is a woody climber attaining a 
very considerable length in a wild state. The stem, at 
