Common name(s): Kali Mirch, Black Pepper
Scientific name: Piper nigrum
Description
Black pepper is a flowering vine, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. Black pepper is native to South India and is extensively cultivated there and elsewhere in tropical regions. The pepper plant is a perennial woody vine growing to 4 m in height on supporting trees, poles, or trellises. It is a spreading vine, rooting readily where trailing stems touch the ground. The leaves are alternate, entire, 5-10 cm long, and 3-6 cm broad. The flowers are small, produced on pendulous spikes 4-8 cm long at the leaf nodes, the spikes lengthening to 7-15 cm as the fruit matures. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is a small drupe five millimeters in diameter, dark red when fully mature, containing a single seed. Dried ground pepper is one of the most common spices in European cuisine and its descendants, having been known and prized since antiquity for both its flavor and its use as a medicine. The spiciness of black pepper is due to the chemical piperine.
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Black Pepper plant care and instructions
The vines need to be trained early when they are young so tie or just weave them through trellis sections. It is best to grow under trees as they provide shade and need to plant in free ventilation. Apply leaf mulch and manure. It is beneficial if shoots are pruned twice a year. Fertilize the plant in spring just before new growth appears. Watch for aphids on indoor plants and use soap water spray or Eucalyptus oil, Neem Oil, and Citrus oil, etc. Do not overwater as plant roots may rot. It is extensively cultivated there and elsewhere in tropical regions. A plant can be grown in soil that is neither too dry nor susceptible to flooding, moist, well-drained, and rich in organic matter. It is best grown in sun-dappled areas or areas with a bright indirect sun.
Light - Partial shade.
Place - It is best to grow under trees as they provide shade and need to plant in free ventilation.
Water - Keep the soil constantly moist for good results. Mist regularly with a spray bottle to keep a humid environment. Water container plants even more often as they will dry out fast.
Fertilizer - Once in a while, any organic fertilizer.
Temperature - 12 to 32 degrees C
Special Features
It is used in folk medicine and was believed to cure several illnesses, such as constipation, insomnia, oral abscesses, sunburn, and toothaches, etc.
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