''Tasmannia stipitata'', commonly known as the Dorrigo pepper or northern pepperbush is a

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

shrub of

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...

forests of the Northern Tablelands of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. Leaves are fragrant, narrow-lanceolate to narrow-elliptic, 8–13 cm long. Dark bluish to mauve berries follow the flowers on female shrubs. The species is

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproducti ...

, with male and female flowers on separate plants.

Culinary use

The culinary quality of ''T. stipitata'' was recognized in the mid-1980s by horticulturist

Peter Hardwick Peter Hardwick (born 1958) is an Australian food horticulturist and environmentalist, recognized as an early pioneer of the Australian bushfood industry. He publicly challenged the established belief that native Australian food plants were not suit ...

, who gave it the name 'Dorrigo pepper', and Jean-Paul Bruneteau, then chef at Rowntrees Restaurant, Sydney. It is mainly wild harvested from the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales. Dorrigo pepper has a woody-

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus '' Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakf ...

and peppery note in the leaves and the fruit/seed. The hot peppery flavor is derived from

polygodial Polygodial is chemical compound found in dorrigo pepper, mountain pepper, horopito, canelo, paracress, water-pepper, and '' Dendrodoris limbata''.M Jonassohn (1996)Sesquiterpenoid unsaturated dialdehydes - Structural properties that affect re ...

, an

essential oil An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the o ...

component, common to most species in the family.

Research

Research showed that ''T. stipitata'' has the potential to be used as an anti food spoilage and medicinal agent because of its low toxicity and moderate broad spectrum inhibitory activity against

bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were am ...

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately fr ...

and

Giardia ''Giardia'' ( or ) is a genus of anaerobic flagellated protozoan parasite Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and ...

.C. Harta, P. Ilankoa, J. Sirdaartaa,b, P. Rayana,b, P.A. McDonnella and I. E. Cocka
"''Tasmannia stipitata'' as a Functional Food/Natural Preservative: Antimicrobial Activity and Toxicity", ''Pharmacognosy Communications''
Volume 4, Issue 4, Oct–Dec 2014.

References

External links

''Tasmannia stipitata'' Occurrence data
from AVH Bushfood Flora of New South Wales Magnoliids of Australia stipitata Spices Dioecious plants {{Australia-plant-stub

Culinary use

Research

See also

References

Further reading

External links