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Black pepper (Piper nigrum)
Photo: David Monniaux, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

On the map in 4 countries climber

Black pepper

Piper nigrum

Family: Piperaceae

On our map this plant appears in 4 countries and ranks highest in: Cambodia, Malaysia, India, Vietnam.

Black pepper is a perennial climber of the pepper family that clings to supports with aerial roots, climbing several metres high. It produces hanging spikes of small fruits that change from green to red as they ripen. The same fruits give green pepper, black pepper (dried unripe fruits), red pepper (ripe fruits) and white pepper (ripe fruits with the outer layer removed). It comes from the Western Ghats of India and needs a hot, humid climate.

Description from: Cambodia.

More: Wikipedia (en) Wikipedia (pl) Plants of the World Online (Kew)

Significance in each country

  1. Cambodia no. 4 of 5 cultivated

    Pepper growing in Kampot developed on a large scale in French colonial times, and in the early 20th century the region was one of France’s main pepper suppliers.

  2. Malaysia no. 9 of 10 cultivated

    Pepper growing in Sarawak was developed in the 19th century by Chinese settlers, and today it is mainly in the hands of smallholders from the Iban and Bidayuh peoples.

  3. India no. 10 of 15 cultivated

    Pepper is native to the Western Ghats and was the most valuable commodity of the Malabar Coast – the Romans and Arabs traded in it, and in 1498 Vasco da Gama sailed to Calicut for it, opening the sea route from Europe to India.

  4. Vietnam no. 10 of 10 cultivated

    Since the early 21st century Vietnam has been the world’s largest pepper exporter, accounting for a large share of global trade.