Edible : Seed, Spice, Herb, Fruit
A climbing, green, leafy vine. It is woody. The nodes are enlarged. The plant has roots on the main stem which attach to tree trunks. The vines can be 8-10 m long. The leaf stalk is 1-2 cm long. The leaf blade is oval and 10-15 cm long by 5-9 cm wide. It is thick and leathery. The base is rounded and it tapers to a short tip. The flowers are usually of one sex but many flowers occur together. The spikes are opposite the leaves. The spikes are 3-3.5 cm long by 0.8 mm wide. They can be 10 cm long. It has clusters of berries on the side branches. The berries are red when ripe. They are 3-4 mm across.
Distribution It is a tropical plant. It grows from sea level up to at least 1100 m altitude in equatorial places. It suits areas with a temperature between 24° and 26°C. It cannot tolerate frost. It likes high humidity and shade. It does best with a rainfall between 1200 and 2500 mm per year. It has been planted in commercial stands in a few coastal areas of Papua New Guinea. In the Cairns Botanical Gardens. It originally came from the tropics of India. It occurs in the Western Ghats in India. It suits hardiness zones 10-12
Other Names :
Black pepper, Bumawng-ru, Gol morich, Hapusha, Jaluk, Kajmurch, Kalamari, Kalamorich, Kalimirch, Kalomirich, Kapidi, Kare menasu, Konda miriyam, Kurumulaku, Lada hitam, Lada puteh, Lado ketek, Lado kobon, Maricha, Merica, Micha, Milagu, Mire, Miriyala tige, Morshaidi, Nallamulaku, Nga-yok-kaung, Paminta, Pappaa, Pedes, Pepe nero, Pfeffer, Phrik tai, Pimenta negra, Pimienta, Poivre, Priktai, Sayo-me, U-pinlong, Ushana, White pepper, Zwarte,
Muldera multinervis Miq.;