Piperaceae FAMILY

Piper capense

Edibility

2/5

Medicinal

2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Botanical Description

Piper capense is a rather variable plant in habit, ranging from a weakly erect, aromatic, evergreen shrub or subshrub, to a more or less herbaceous perennial and sometimes a straggling plant that scrambles into other plants for support[ 328 Title African Flowering Plants Database Publication Author Website http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php Publisher Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques. Year 0 ISBN Description Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map. ]. The stems can be 1 - 5 metres long, with one or sometimes several stems arising from a tuberous rootstock[ 328 Title African Flowering Plants Database Publication Author Website http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php Publisher Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques. Year 0 ISBN Description Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map. ]. The plant is sometimes gathered from the wild for local medicinal use.

Habitat & Origin

Origintropical

Native RangeAfrica - Sierra Leone to Ethiopia and Sudan, south to Angola, Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa.

HabitatForest undergrowth in wet places, swampy forest edges, mixed bamboo-forest, scrub and thicket near streams, grassland and tree clumps, etc.; at elevations from 650 - 2,500 metres[ 328 Title African Flowering Plants Database Publication Author Website http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php Publisher Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques. Year 0 ISBN Description Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map. ].