Common Name: Monkey Pepper

General Information

Monkey pepper is a semideciduous tree with a pyramidal crown; it can grow 4 - 6 metres tall[]. It grows up to 25 metres tall in the Guyanas[]. The short, cylindrical bole can be 15 - 25cm in diameter[].
The seeds are sometimes gathered from the wild and used locally as a flavouring in food. A tree with an attractive form, it can be used in street plantings and for landscaping[].

Known Hazards

The seeds are poisonous[].

Botanical References

Range

S. America - Paraguay, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, the Guyanas; Caribbean - Cuba, Trinidad; Central America - Panama to Honduras.

Habitat

Scrubland[]. Wet, lowland forest in Peru[]. Sandy loam among shrubs and low trees of second growth at elevations around 400 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Semi-deciduous Tree
Height	10.00 m
Growth Rate	Slow
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of mainly low elevations in the tropics, though it is at times found at elevations over 1,500 metres.
Grows best in a sunny position[[]. Succeeds in poor, dry soils[]. Established plants are drought tolerant[].
Freshly planted young trees are slow to establish and grow away slowly[].

Edible Uses

The seeds are used as a substitute for black pepper (Piper nigrum) to flavour cooked foods[]. They have a similar taste and smell to black pepper[]. One report says that the seeds are poisonous and are used to kill rats[].

Medicinal

The flowers are carminative and tonic[].

The shoots, stem-bark and seeds are aromatic and tonic[].

A weak tea made from the plant (part not specified) is used as a strong diuretic to treat cases of swellings of the legs[]. The tea should be administered with great caution[].

The fruit, called 'Frutta de Burro' is a valuable febrifuge[].

The essential oil in the fruits contains alpha and beta pinene, myrcene, limonene, ocimene, citronellol and carvone[]. The non-volatile constituents include diterpenes[].

Agroforestry Uses:

An essential oil with a pepper-like aroma is obtained from the plant (the flowers?)[].

A pioneer species within its native range, growing in fields, poor soils etc. However, it is quite slow growing which makes it less suitable for use as a pioneer[].

Other Uses

The heartwood is a pale or reddish brown, usually well defined from the sapwood that varies in colour from yellowish or greyish to pale pinkish brown[]. The wood is light, soft, flabby textured, of low durability but easily worked. It is only suitable for purposes such as linings and the manufacture of light boxes[].

Propagation

Seed - germination rates and time are improved if the seed is scarified by lightly abrading the seedcoat prior to sowing. Sow the seeds in a nursery seedbed. Seedlings are quite slow growing and it will take 9 - 11 months from germination until they are ready to plant into their permanent positions[].

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