Piper peepuloides seeds, Himalaya pepper

Piper peepuloides seeds

Piper peepuloides plant is from the Piperaceae family. It is a native plant to the forest in the Himalayas regions to western China. The plant’s synonyms include Chavica neesiana Miq and Chavica peepuloides (Roxb.) Miq. It is commonly referred to as wild pepper or Himalaya pepper. Himalaya pepper is often small, slender and vine-like. The plant grows in regions that are highly moist with low elevations of about 100- 700 m. For this reason, the plant is normally seen to grow well in tropical and subtropical forests.
Himalaya pepper is a climbing plant whose leaves are evergreen and shiny. The plant has fruits that grow in groups and are green before they can get ripen and black when they are ripe. The leaves of Piper peepuloides have a very sweet scent when rubbed against each other. The plant blooms to produce tiny white flowers that later grow into fruit. The fruit can be dried to get seed or just used.

Himalaya pepper is a flowering plant that has both the male and female organs. It thus fertilises itself and pollination done by the insects. After reproduction, the plant goes dormant for some time before it blooms again, during which, its leaves are kept green as others grow. Its seeds from the dried fruits can also be planted by just sprinkling them on the soil and just with enough moisture they will sprout.
Piper peepuloides plant is majorly used as a spice by a huge population. Its fruit feels chilli and is used similarly as the black paper. It is also used for medicinal purposes. Meghalaya people use the powder of the dried and ground seed of Piper peepuloides to treat severe cough. The powder is mixed with egg yolk and honey before it is consumed. The roots of this plant are also said to be a medicine. The leaves of this plant are a good browse to both domestic and wild animals. The songbirds also consume the fruit of this plant in most cases.
The fruit, if used as a spice, is very hot and should be handled with care. One should not use their bare hands to prepare the Piper peepuloides fruits and touch their eyes with the same hands before cleaning thoroughly. Also, when cooking the spice, avoid direct steam because it is as well hot. Because of this, it should only be handled by the adults and should always be kept away from the children.