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Useful Tropical Plants

Piper amalago

L.

Piperaceae

+ Synonyms

Enckea ceanothifolia (Kunth) Kunth

Enckea orthostachya Kunth

Enckea plantaginea (Lam.) Kunth

Enckea sieberi Miq.

Piper adenophlebium Trel.

Piper berlandieri C.DC.

Piper calvescens Trel.

Piper ceanothifolium Kunth

Piper cobanense Trel.

Piper comayaguanum Trel. ex Yunck.

Piper compactum Trel.

Piper conversum Trel.

Piper cubilquitzianum C.DC.

Piper decrescens (Miq.) C.DC.

Piper gaumeri Trel.

Piper gracillimum Trel.

Piper henshenii C.DC.

Piper lundellianum Trel.

Piper lundellii Trel.

Piper medium Jacq.

Piper nicoyanum C.DC.

Piper orthostachyum Kunth

Piper plantagineum Lam.

Piper realgoanum C.DC.

Piper recuperatum Trel.

Piper reticulatum L.

Piper saururoides Desv. ex Ham.

Piper sieberi (Miq.) C. DC.

Piper siguatepequense Trel.

Piper syringaefolium Balb. ex Kunth

Piper tenuipes C.DC.

Piper tigerianum C.DC.

Piper tiguanum C.DC.

Piper tilaranum Trel.

Piper victorianum C.DC.

Piper wilsonii Trel.

Piper xanthoneurum Trel.

Common Name: Pepper Elder

Piper amalago
Flowering branch
Photograph by: Leonora Enking
Creative Commons License
Piper amalago Piper amalago Piper amalago

General Information

Pepper elder is a rather slender, often much branched, evergreen shrub or small tree, commonly growing 1.5 - 3
metres tall, though sometimes up to 6 metres[
332
Title
The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
Burkil. H. M.
Publisher
Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew.
Year
1985 - 2004
ISBN
 
Description
Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/
]
In semi-cultivation as a medicinal plant in E Mexico[
317
Title
Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

332
Title
The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
Burkil. H. M.
Publisher
Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew.
Year
1985 - 2004
ISBN
 
Description
Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/
,
342
Title
Flora of Jamaica
Publication
 
Author
Fawcett. W. & Rendle. A. B.
Publisher
British Museum
Year
1910
ISBN
 
Description
Rather dated, so many name changes. Nevertheless, a very good guide to the plants of the Caribbean. The book is out of copyright and can be legally downloaded from various websites.

Range

S. America - Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia and Peru, north to the Caribbean and through Central America to Mexico.

Habitat

Moist or wet thickets or mixed forest, at elevations up to 2,600 metres in Guatemala[
332
Title
The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
Burkil. H. M.
Publisher
Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew.
Year
1985 - 2004
ISBN
 
Description
Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/
].

Properties

Edibility Rating *  *
Medicinal Rating *  *
Other Uses Rating *  *
HabitEvergreen Shrub
Height3.00 m
Cultivation StatusSemi-cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses

The pungent, black fruit is used as a hot spice in food[
460
Title
Flora Medica
Publication
 
Author
Lindley J.
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/
Publisher
Longman, Orme, Brown, Green and Longmans: London
Year
1838
ISBN
 
Description
A massive work - many of the botanical names have changed, but the book is still a wealth of information.
]. It is extremely like black pepper (Piper nigrum) in quality[
460
Title
Flora Medica
Publication
 
Author
Lindley J.
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/
Publisher
Longman, Orme, Brown, Green and Longmans: London
Year
1838
ISBN
 
Description
A massive work - many of the botanical names have changed, but the book is still a wealth of information.
]. About the size of a mustard seed[
460
Title
Flora Medica
Publication
 
Author
Lindley J.
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/
Publisher
Longman, Orme, Brown, Green and Longmans: London
Year
1838
ISBN
 
Description
A massive work - many of the botanical names have changed, but the book is still a wealth of information.
]. The seed should be collected before it is quite ripe[
460
Title
Flora Medica
Publication
 
Author
Lindley J.
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/
Publisher
Longman, Orme, Brown, Green and Longmans: London
Year
1838
ISBN
 
Description
A massive work - many of the botanical names have changed, but the book is still a wealth of information.
].

The leaves are dried and used for making tea[
478
Title
Botanical Museum Leaflets Vol 11
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Harvard University; Cambridge, Mass.
Year
1945
ISBN
 
Description
Includes an article on the Economic Plants of S. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
].

Medicinal

The leaves and young shoots are discutient[
460
Title
Flora Medica
Publication
 
Author
Lindley J.
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/
Publisher
Longman, Orme, Brown, Green and Longmans: London
Year
1838
ISBN
 
Description
A massive work - many of the botanical names have changed, but the book is still a wealth of information.
]. The green leaves are brewed to provide a remedy for
coughs[
478
Title
Botanical Museum Leaflets Vol 11
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Harvard University; Cambridge, Mass.
Year
1945
ISBN
 
Description
Includes an article on the Economic Plants of S. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
].

The root is diaphoretic, resolutive, sudorific[
460
Title
Flora Medica
Publication
 
Author
Lindley J.
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/
Publisher
Longman, Orme, Brown, Green and Longmans: London
Year
1838
ISBN
 
Description
A massive work - many of the botanical names have changed, but the book is still a wealth of information.
]. It is used to treat snake bites[
46
Title
Dictionary of Economic Plants.
Publication
 
Author
Uphof. J. C. Th.
Publisher
Weinheim
Year
1959
ISBN
-
Description
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
,
479
Title
Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. Volume 83
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Missouri Botanical Garden
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Contains, amongst other things, an article on ethnobotany. It can be downloaded from the internet.
].

An infusion of the flowers is aperitive and vermifuge[
348
Title
Medicinal Plants of the Guianas
Publication
 
Author
DeFilipps, R. A.; Maina, S. L.; & Crepin, J.
Website
http://botany.si.edu/bdg/medicinal/index.html
Publisher
Smithsonian Museum
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A down-loadable PDF document of a book in pre-publication awaiting illustration. An excellent, if rather terse, guide to the traditional medicinal uses of the plants of the region
].

Other Uses

The stems are utilized in building small shelters or shacks in much the same way as bamboo is used[
478
Title
Botanical Museum Leaflets Vol 11
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Publisher
Harvard University; Cambridge, Mass.
Year
1945
ISBN
 
Description
Includes an article on the Economic Plants of S. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
].

Propagation

Seed -
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-12-13. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Piper+amalago>

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