Piper nigrum at 7 inches tall on 12-18-09.
FAMILY: Piperaceae
GENUS: Piper
SPECIES: nigrum
COMMON NAME: Black Pepper Plant (Vine)
Piper nigrum and Piper betel are very similar but they have some different characteristics. The man I bought this plant from (Wellspring Gardens) listed it as Piper nigrum, and he has picture of a leaf of both species to show the difference. The leaves on mine, at this point, look more like the leaf of the betel! But, I am not going to question this mans expertise. He explains in his listing that he grows both types and many people that sell them have the two mixed up. The leaves of betel are puckered and shinier than the nigrum. The fruit (seeds) of the betel sit on top of the stem while those of the nigrum hang.
Now, he also says that the vines of the Piper nigrum can grow to 30′ but other websites say 12-15′. They are an evergreen plant, but need temps above 40 degrees, although they are cold hardy to 32-35 degrees F (zones 10b-11). Which means to completely avoid a frost or they could possibly die! Mine have been growing in a nice clay pot with morning sun and light shade the remainder of the day in the back yard. Then as temps got a little cooler and the sun changed location, I moved it to the front porch, along with the rest of the potted plants, where it had LOTS of sun. I kept behind one of the pillars so it wouldn’t get sun 100% of the time. Then when the temps REALLY dropped to in the 30′s at night, I moved it to a room where it gets a steady amount of heat and the temperature doesn’t drop below 50. Changing location and the amount of sun it get has not seemed to bother it at all.
Now, this plant has been very interesting to grow. It seemed to be growing SO slow! You know how sometimes we get busy and don’t really have time to take a closer look? We see blooms and bugs, but that’s something that gets your attention! While most of the other trees have had noticeable upward growth that anyone can see, this plant has grown weird! I have been waiting for this plant to trail like a vine or something. Then I started really taking a good look at it, and it is growing in some kind of a wad! Now, you think I am really crazy!
Getting back to the description… This evergreen native of Sri Lanka, produces white flowers which are replaced by green fruit. The green fruit turns red when ripe. It will produce all four types of peppercorns, white, black, red, and green. In their native tropical environment, they thrive in temperatures between 50 and 100 degrees F with annual rainfall between 50-80 inches with 80% humidity.
