Piper nigrum - Marica, Black pepper

Black pepper

Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae. It is cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning, known as a peppercorn. When fresh and fully mature, it is about 5 mm in diameter and dark red, and contains a single seed, like all drupes.

Uses

Improves Digestion, Vitiligo, Skin disease, Peptic Ulcers, Asthma, Indigestion.

Parts Used

Seeds, leaves.

Chemical Composition

It contains globulol, α-pinene, β-caryophyllene and α-terpinene.

Common names

Language	Common name
Kannada	Eddemunchi, Eddemunci
Hindi	Chocamirch, Filfilgird
Malayalam	Cattu-molagoi, Kolakam
Tamil	Aguttam, Akuttam
Telugu	Maarichamu, Maricamu
Marathi	NA
Gujarathi	NA
Punjabi	NA
Kashmiri	NA
Sanskrit	Cavyam, Dhanwantari
English	Black pepper, Madagascar pepper

Properties

Reference:Dravya - Substance, Rasa - Taste, Guna - Qualities, Veerya - Potency, Vipaka - Post-digesion effect, Karma - Pharmacological activity, Prabhava - Therepeutics.

Dravya

Rasa

Katu (pungent)

Guna

Laghu (light), Teekshna (strong, piercing)

Veerya

Ushna (hot)

Vipaka

Katu (pungent)

Karma

Kapha, Vata

Prabhava

Habit

Climber

Identification

Leaf

Kind	Shape	Feature
Alternative	Oblong	Leaf Arrangement is Alternate-spiral

Flower

Type	Size	Color and composition	Stamen	More information
Unisexual	2-4cm long	White, yellow		The small flowers are in dense slender spikes of about 50 blossoms each

Fruit

Type	Size	Mass	Appearance	Seeds	More information
Oblong pod	5 mm in diameter		Seeds upto 1	Fruiting throughout the year	{{{6}}}

Other features

List of Ayurvedic medicine in which the herb is used

Aṣṭāṇgāvaleha, Bilvādileha, Trikatu churna, Chandrapraha vati, Marichadi vati, Tribhuvana kirti rasa, Lohaasava

Mode of Propagation

Cuttings, Seeds

How to plant/cultivate

A plant of the hot and humid lowland tropics, where it grows best at elevations up to 500 metres, but can be grown up to 2,000 metres.

Commonly seen growing in areas

Tropical region, Moist region, At hot regions.

Photo Gallery

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External Links

• Black pepper on ncbi.com
• Black pepper on britannica.com
• Black pepper on indiaagronet.com
• Black pepper on agrifarming.in