Piperaceae

(Pepper Family)

Habit

herbs or small trees with ethereal oils

Leaves

simple, entire, with pellucid dots, lacking stipules

Flowers

inconspicuous, aggregated into thick spikes

Perianth

absent

Stamens

usually 6

Carpels

1-4, connate; ovary superior with one basal ovule

Fruit

drupe

Diversity

6 genera / >2,000 species

Distribution

tropical

Economics

spice black (and white) pepper; some cultivated ornamentals

Notes

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Images

• ">Vascular Plant Image Gallery (Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group)
• Wisconsin State Herbarium
• ">Google Images