''Capparis spinosa'', the caper bush, also called Flinders rose, is a
perennial plant that bears rounded, fleshy leaves and large white to pinkish-white flowers.
The plant is best known for the edible flower buds (capers), used as a seasoning or garnish, and the fruit (caper berries), both of which are usually consumed
salted or, alternatively,
pickled. Other species of ''Capparis'' are also picked along with ''C. spinosa'' for their buds or fruits. Other parts of ''Capparis'' plants are used in the manufacture of medicines and cosmetics.
''Capparis spinosa'' is native to almost all the
circum-Mediterranean countries,
and is included in the flora of most of them, but whether it is
indigenous to this region is uncertain. The family
Capparaceae could have originated in the tropics, and later spread to the Mediterranean basin.
The taxonomic status of the species is controversial and unsettled. Species within the genus ''Capparis'' are highly variable, and
interspecific hybrids have been common throughout the evolutionary history of the genus. As a result, some authors have considered ''C. spinosa'' to be composed of multiple distinct species, others that the taxon is a single species with multiple varieties or subspecies, or that the taxon ''C. spinosa'' is a hybrid between ''C. orientalis'' and ''C. sicula''.
Plant
The shrubby plant is many-branched, with
alternate leaves
Alternative or alternate may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki''
* ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film
* ''The Alternative ...
, thick and shiny, round to
ovate. The flowers are
complete, sweetly fragrant, and showy, with four sepals and four white to pinkish-white petals, and many long violet-colored stamens, and a single stigma usually rising well above the stamens.
Environmental requirements

The caper bush requires a semiarid or arid climate. The caper bush has developed a series of mechanisms that reduce the impact of high radiation levels, high daily temperature, and insufficient soil water during its growing period.
The caper bush has a curious reaction to sudden increases in humidity; it forms wart-like pock marks across the leaf surface. This is apparently harmless, as the plant quickly adjusts to the new conditions and produces unaffected leaves.
It also shows characteristics of a plant adapted to poor soils. This shrub has a high root/shoot ratio and the presence of
mycorrhizae serves to maximize the uptake of minerals in poor soils. Different
nitrogen-fixing bacterial strains have been isolated from the caper bush
rhizosphere, playing a role in maintaining high reserves of that growth-limiting element.
Cultivation
The caper bush has been introduced as a specialized culture in some European countries in the last four decades. The economic importance of the caper plant led to a significant increase in both the area under cultivation and production levels during the late 1980s. The main production areas are in harsh environments found in
Iraq,
Morocco, the southeastern
Iberian Peninsula,
Turkey, the
Greek island of
Santorini
Santorini ( el, Σαντορίνη, ), officially Thira (Greek: Θήρα ) and classical Greek Thera (English pronunciation ), is an island in the southern Aegean Sea, about 200 km (120 mi) southeast from the Greek mainland. It is the ...
, and the
Italian island of
Pantelleria, and the
Aeolian Islands
The Aeolian Islands ( ; it, Isole Eolie ; scn, Ìsuli Eoli), sometimes referred to as the Lipari Islands or Lipari group ( , ) after their largest island, are a volcanic archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea north of Sicily, said to be named after ...
, especially
Salina. Capers from Pantelleria and Aelian island are recognized as European
PGI products. This species has developed special mechanisms to survive in the Mediterranean conditions, and introduction in semiarid lands may help to prevent the disruption of the equilibrium of those fragile ecosystems.
A harvest duration of at least three months is necessary for profitability. Intense daylight and a long growing period are necessary to secure high yields. The caper bush can withstand temperatures over 40 °C in summer, but it is sensitive to frost during its vegetative period. A caper bush is able to survive low temperatures in the form of stump, as happens in the foothills of the Alps. Caper plants are found even 3,500 m above sea level in
Ladakh, though they are usually grown at lower altitudes. Some
Italian and
Argentine
Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...
plantings can withstand strong winds without problems, due to the plant's
decumbent architecture and the
coriaceous consistency of the leaves in some populations.
The known distributions of each species can be used to identify the origin of commercially prepared capers.
The caper bush is a
rupicolous species. It is widespread on rocky areas and is grown on different soil associations, including
alfisols
Alfisols are a soil order in USDA soil taxonomy. Alfisols form in semi-arid to humid areas, typically under a hardwood forest cover. They have a clay-enriched subsoil and relatively high native fertility. "Alf" refers to aluminium (Al) and iron ( ...
,
regosols
A Regosol in the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) is very weakly developed mineral soil in unconsolidated materials. Regosols are extensive in eroding lands, in particular in arid and semi-arid areas and in mountain regions. Internat ...
, and
lithosols. In different
Himalayan locations, ''C. spinosa'' tolerates both silty clay and sandy, rocky, or gravelly surface soils, with less than 1% organic matter. It grows on bare rocks,
crevices, cracks, and sand dunes in
Pakistan, in dry calcareous escarpments of the
Adriatic
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...
region, in dry coastal ecosystems of
Egypt,
Libya, and
Tunisia, in transitional zones between the littoral salt marsh and the coastal deserts of the
Asian
Red Sea coast, in the rocky arid bottoms of the
Jordan valley, in calcareous sandstone cliffs at
Ramat Aviv,
Israel, and in central west and northwest coastal dunes of
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. It grows spontaneously in wall joints of antique Roman fortresses, on the Western Wall of
Jerusalem's
Temple Mount, and on the ramparts of the castle of Santa Bárbara (
Alicante, Spain
Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in th ...
). Clinging caper plants are dominant on the medieval limestone-made ramparts of
Alcudia and the bastions of
Palma
Palma or La Palma means palm in a number of languages and may also refer to:
Geography Africa
*Palma, Mozambique, city
** Palma District
*La Palma, one of the Canary Islands, Spain
**La Palma (DO), a ''Denominación de Origen'' for wines from the ...
(
Majorca, Spain). This aggressive pioneering has brought about serious problems for the protection of monuments.
Propagation

Capers can be grown easily from fresh seeds gathered from ripe fruit and planted into well-drained seed-raising mix. Seedlings appear in two to four weeks. Old, stored seeds enter a state of
dormancy
Dormancy is a period in an organism's life cycle when growth, development, and (in animals) physical activity are temporarily stopped. This minimizes metabolic activity and therefore helps an organism to conserve energy. Dormancy tends to be clo ...
and require cold
stratification to germinate. The viable embryos germinate within three to four days after partial removal of the
lignified
Lignin is a class of complex organic polymers that form key structural materials in the support tissues of most plants. Lignins are particularly important in the formation of cell walls, especially in wood and bark, because they lend rigidity a ...
seed coats. The seed coats and the mucilage surrounding the seeds may be ecological adaptations to avoid water loss and conserve seed viability during the dry season.
Use of stem
cuttings avoids high variability in terms of production and quality. Nevertheless, plants grown from cuttings are more susceptible to drought during the first years after planting. The caper bush is a difficult-to-root woody species, and successful propagation requires careful consideration of biotypes and seasonal and environmental parameters. Rootings up to 55% are possible when using one-year-old wood, depending on cutting harvest time and substrate used. Propagation from stem cuttings is the standard method for growing ‘Mallorquina’ and ‘Italiana’ in Spain, and ‘Nocella’ in the Aeolian Islands, esp. Salina. Hardwood cuttings vary in length from 15 to 50 cm and diameter of the cuttings may range from 1.0 to 2.5 cm. Another possibility is to collect stems during February through the beginning of March, treat them with
captan or
captafol and stratify them outdoors or in a chamber at 3–4 °C, covered with sand or plastic. Moisture content and drainage should be carefully monitored and maintained until planting. Using semihardwood cuttings, collected and planted during August and September, low survival rates (under 30%) have been achieved. Softwood cuttings are prepared in April from 25- to 30-day shoots. Each cutting should contain at least two nodes and be six to 10 cm long. Basal or subterminal cuttings are more successful than terminal ones. Then, cuttings are planted in a greenhouse under a mist system with bottom heat; 150 to 200 cuttings/m
2 may be planted.
Orchard establishment
Mean annual temperatures in areas under cultivation are over . A rainy spring and a hot dry summer are considered advantageous. This drought-tolerant perennial plant is used for landscaping and reducing erosion along highways, steep rocky slopes, sand dunes or fragile semiarid ecosystems.
Caper plantings over 25 to 30 years old are still productive. Thus, physical properties of the soil (texture and depth) are particularly important. Caper bushes can develop extensive root systems and grow best on deep, nonstratified, medium-textured, loamy soils.
Mouldboard plowing and harrowing are usual practices prior to caper plant establishment. Soil-profile modification practices, such as
deep plowing operating 0.6 to 1 m, can
ameliorate some restrictions. In
Pantelleria, digging
backhoe
A backhoe—also called rear actor or back actor—is a type of excavating equipment, or digger, consisting of a digging bucket on the end of a two-part articulated arm. It is typically mounted on the back of a tractor or front loader, the latt ...
pits for each shrub was found to be the most effective means of cultivating caper in rocky soils. Two planting designs are used, the square/rectangle and the
hedgerow
A hedge or hedgerow is a line of closely spaced shrubs and sometimes trees, planted and trained to form a barrier or to mark the boundary of an area, such as between neighbouring properties. Hedges that are used to separate a road from adjoini ...
system. Spacing is determined by the vigour of the biotype, fertility of the soil, equipment used and the irrigation method, if any.
Harvest
Caper buds are usually picked in the morning.
Because the youngest, smallest buds fetch the highest prices, daily picking is typical.
Capers may be harvested from wild plants, in which case it is necessary to know that the plant is not one of the few poisonous ''Capparis'' species that look similar.
The plant normally has curved thorns that may scratch the people who harvest the buds, although a few spineless varieties have been developed.
Culinary uses

The
salted and
pickled caper bud (called simply a caper) is used as an ingredient,
seasoning
Seasoning is the process of supplementing food via herbs, spices, salts, and/or sugar, intended to enhance a particular flavour.
General meaning
Seasonings include herbs and spices, which are themselves frequently referred to as "seasonings". Ho ...
, or
garnish. Capers are a common ingredient in
Mediterranean cuisine, especially
Cypriot
Cypriot (in older sources often "Cypriote") refers to someone or something of, from, or related to the country of Cyprus.
* Cypriot people, or of Cypriot descent; this includes:
** Armenian Cypriots
** Greek Cypriots
** Maronite Cypriots
** Tur ...
,
Italian,
Aeolian Greek, and
Maltese
Maltese may refer to:
* Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta
* Maltese alphabet
* Maltese cuisine
* Maltese culture
* Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people
* Maltese people, people from Malta or of Malte ...
food. The immature
fruit of the caper
shrub
A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...
are prepared similarly and marketed as caper berries. Fully mature fruit are not preferred, as they contain many hard seeds.
The buds, when ready to pick, are a dark
olive green and range in size from under 7 mm to more than 14 mm. They are picked, then pickled in
salt, or a salt and vinegar solution, and drained. Intense flavor, sometimes described as being similar to black pepper or mustard, is developed as glucocapparin, a
glycoside organosulfur molecule, is released from each caper bud.
This
enzymatic reaction leads to the formation of
rutin, often seen as crystallized white spots on the surfaces of individual caper buds.
Capers are a distinctive ingredient in Italian cuisine, especially in
Sicilian, Aeolian, and southern Italian cooking. They are commonly used in
salads,
pasta salads, meat dishes, and
pasta sauces. Examples of uses in Italian cuisine are
chicken piccata and ''
spaghetti alla puttanesca''.
Capers are an ingredient in
tartar sauce. They are often served with
cold smoked salmon or
cured salmon dishes, especially
lox and cream cheese. Capers and caper berries are sometimes substituted for olives to garnish a
martini.
Capers are categorized and sold by their size, defined as follows, with the smallest sizes being the most desirable: non-pareil (up to 7 mm), surfines (7–8 mm), capucines (8–9 mm), capotes (9–11 mm), fines (11–13 mm), and grusas (14+ mm). If the caper bud is not picked, it flowers and produces a caper berry. The fruit can be pickled and then served as a Greek ''
mezze''.
Caper leaves, which are hard to find outside of
Greece or
Cyprus, are used particularly in salads and fish dishes. They are pickled or boiled and preserved in jars with brine—like caper buds.
Dried caper leaves are also used as a substitute for
rennet
Rennet () is a complex set of enzymes produced in the stomachs of ruminant mammals. Chymosin, its key component, is a protease enzyme that curdles the casein in milk. In addition to chymosin, rennet contains other enzymes, such as pepsin and a ...
in the manufacturing of high-quality cheese.
File:Taperots1.JPG, Pickled caperberries
File:Salted capers.jpg, Salted capers
File:Kapernblaettersalat auf Rhodos.JPG, Caper leaves, pickled or boiled, can be used as an addition to salads.
File:Unami Tostada with Wasabi Kreme and Caper (4271100340).jpg, Toast with capers
Nutrition
Canned, pickled capers are 84% water, 5%
carbohydrates
In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or may ...
, 2%
protein, and 1%
fat (table). Preserved capers are particularly high in
sodium due to the amount of salt added to the
brine
Brine is a high-concentration solution of salt (NaCl) in water (H2O). In diverse contexts, ''brine'' may refer to the salt solutions ranging from about 3.5% (a typical concentration of seawater, on the lower end of that of solutions used for br ...
. In a typical serving of 28 grams (one
ounce), capers supply 6
kcal and 35% of the
Daily Value (DV) for sodium, with no other
nutrients in significant content. In a 100 gram amount, the sodium content is 2960 mg or 197% DV, with
vitamin K (23% DV),
iron (13% DV), and
riboflavin
Riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2, is a vitamin found in food and sold as a dietary supplement. It is essential to the formation of two major coenzymes, flavin mononucleotide and flavin adenine dinucleotide. These coenzymes are involved in ...
(12% DV) also having appreciable levels (table).
Polyphenols
Canned capers contain
polyphenols, including the
flavonoid
Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids; from the Latin word ''flavus'', meaning yellow, their color in nature) are a class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites found in plants, and thus commonly consumed in the diets of humans.
Chemically, flavonoids ...
s
quercetin (173 mg per 100 g) and
kaempferol (131 mg per 100 g), as well as
anthocyanin
Anthocyanins (), also called anthocyans, are water-soluble vacuolar pigments that, depending on their pH, may appear red, purple, blue, or black. In 1835, the German pharmacist Ludwig Clamor Marquart gave the name Anthokyan to a chemical compo ...
s.
Other uses
Capers are sometimes used in cosmetics.
History
The caper was used in
ancient Greece as a
carminative. It is represented in
archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
levels in the form of
carbonised
Carbonization is the conversion of organic matters like plants and dead animal remains into carbon through destructive distillation.
Complexity in carbonization
Carbonization is a pyrolytic reaction, therefore, is considered a complex process ...
seeds and rarely as flower buds and fruits from
archaic
Archaic is a period of time preceding a designated classical period, or something from an older period of time that is also not found or used currently:
*List of archaeological periods
**Archaic Sumerian language, spoken between 31st - 26th cent ...
and
Classical antiquity contexts.
Athenaeus in ''
Deipnosophistae
The ''Deipnosophistae'' is an early 3rd-century AD Greek work ( grc, Δειπνοσοφισταί, ''Deipnosophistaí'', lit. "The Dinner Sophists/Philosophers/Experts") by the Greek author Athenaeus of Naucratis. It is a long work of liter ...
'' pays a lot of attention to the caper, as do
Pliny (''NH'' XIX, XLVIII.163) and
Theophrastus.
Etymologically
Etymology () The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words ...
, the caper and its relatives in several European languages can be traced back to
Classical Latin ''capparis'', “caper”, in turn borrowed from the
Greek κάππαρις, ''kápparis'', whose origin (as that of the plant) is unknown but is probably Asian. Another theory links ''kápparis'' to the name of the island of
Cyprus (Κύπρος, ''Kýpros''), where capers grow abundantly.

In
Biblical times
The history of ancient Israel and Judah begins in the Southern Levant during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. "Israel" as a people or tribal confederation (see Israelites) appears for the first time in the Merneptah Stele, an inscripti ...
, the caper berry was apparently supposed to have
aphrodisiac properties;
the Hebrew word ''aviyyonah'' (אֲבִיּוֹנָה) for caperberry is closely linked to the Hebrew root אבה (avah), meaning "desire". The word occurs once in the Bible, in the book of
Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes (; hbo, קֹהֶלֶת, Qōheleṯ, grc, Ἐκκλησιαστής, Ekklēsiastēs) is one of the Ketuvim ("Writings") of the Hebrew Bible and part of the Wisdom literature of the Christian Old Testament. The title commonly use ...
, at verse .
The
King James Version translates on the basis of the Hebrew root (and perhaps the metaphorical meaning):
''...the grasshopper shall be a burden,
and desire shall fail. '' ( KJV)
The medieval Jewish commentator
Rashi also gives a similar gloss (
JPR). However, ancient translations, including the
Septuagint,
Vulgate,
Peshitta and
Aquila
Aquila may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Aquila'', a series of books by S.P. Somtow
* ''Aquila'', a 1997 book by Andrew Norriss
* ''Aquila'' (children's magazine), a UK-based children's magazine
* ''Aquila'' (journal), an or ...
, render the word more concretely as
κάππαρις, "caper berry".
Thus in the words of one modern
idiomatic translation (2004),
''...the grasshopper loses its spring,
and the caper berry has no effect; '' ( HCSB)
Of other modern versions, the
New International Version
The New International Version (NIV) is an English translation of the Bible first published in 1978 by Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society). The ''NIV'' was created as a modern translation, by Bible scholars using the earliest an ...
(NIV) uses "desire" ( NIV), while the
New American Standard Bible (NASB) has "caper-berry" ( NASB), as did the 1917 Jewish Publication Society version (
JPS).
The berries (''abiyyonot'') were eaten, as appears from their liability to tithes and to the restrictions of the
'Orlah
The prohibition on ''orlah'' fruit (lit. "uncircumcised" fruit) is a command found in the Bible not to eat fruit produced by a tree during the first three years after planting.
In rabbinical writings, the ''orlah'' prohibition (Hebrew: איס ...
. They are carefully distinguished in the
Mishnah and the
Talmud from the caper leaves, ''alin'', shoots, ''temarot'',
[Talmud Bavli, Brachot 36a-36b] and the caper buds, ''capperisin'' (note the similarity "caper"isin to "caper");
[Kaf HaChaim 208] all of which were eaten as seen from the blessing requirement, and declared to be the fruit of the ''ẓelaf'' or caper plant.
[Talmud Bavli, Brachot 36a-36b]
The "capperisin" mentioned in the Talmud are actually referring to a shell that protected the "abiyyonot" as it grew.
[Rashi Brachot 36a]
Talmud Bavli discusses the eating of caper sepals versus caper berries, both inside the land of
Israel, outside the land of
Israel, and in
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
.
[Talmud Bavli, Brachot 36a-36b]
Capers are mentioned as a spice in the Roman cookbook, ''
Apicius''.
Alternatives
Nasturtium,
marigold
Marigold may refer to:
* Marigold (color), a yellow-orange color
It may also refer to:
Plants
* In the genus ''Calendula'':
** Common marigold, '' Calendula officinalis'' (also called pot marigold, ruddles, or Scotch marigold)
* In the genus ' ...
, and
''Cassia'' buds have sometimes been used as a substitute.
Gallery
File:Caper bushes on the Western Wall.jpg, Caper bushes on the Western Wall in Jerusalem
File:Caper berries in a bush on the Western Wall, Jerusalem.jpg, Caper bush growing on the Western Wall, Jerusalem
File:Fruit of the Caper bush.jpg, ''Capparis spinosa'' fruit
File:گل کبر در آبپخش.jpg, Caper flower in Ab Pakhsh
Ab Pakhsh ( fa, آب پخش, also Romanized as Āb Pakhsh) is a city in Ab Pakhsh District of Dashtestan County, Bushehr province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 15,302 in 3,216 households. The following census in 2011 counted 1 ...
File:Caper bush flower.jpg, Capparis spinosa flower
File:بوته کبر در آبپخش.jpg, Caper bush in Ab Pakhsh
Ab Pakhsh ( fa, آب پخش, also Romanized as Āb Pakhsh) is a city in Ab Pakhsh District of Dashtestan County, Bushehr province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 15,302 in 3,216 households. The following census in 2011 counted 1 ...
File:میوه رسیده کبر (لگجی) در آبپخش.jpg, A caper fruit in Ab Pakhsh
Ab Pakhsh ( fa, آب پخش, also Romanized as Āb Pakhsh) is a city in Ab Pakhsh District of Dashtestan County, Bushehr province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 15,302 in 3,216 households. The following census in 2011 counted 1 ...
File:میوه نرسیده لگجی در آبپخش.jpg, A caper fruit in Ab Pakhsh
Ab Pakhsh ( fa, آب پخش, also Romanized as Āb Pakhsh) is a city in Ab Pakhsh District of Dashtestan County, Bushehr province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 15,302 in 3,216 households. The following census in 2011 counted 1 ...
File:میوه نرسیده لگجی در آبپخش که با چاقو بریده شده.jpg, Inside of an unripe caper fruit in Ab Pakhsh
Ab Pakhsh ( fa, آب پخش, also Romanized as Āb Pakhsh) is a city in Ab Pakhsh District of Dashtestan County, Bushehr province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 15,302 in 3,216 households. The following census in 2011 counted 1 ...
File:Caper Flower in Behbahan, Iran.jpg, alt=, Caper Flower in Behbahan
References
External links
*
*
Caper factsheetewCROP, Purdue University
* Book. "Capers. From Wild Harvest to Gourmet Food". Brian Noone 2017 Published by Caperplants.
Caperplants
{{Authority control
Capparis
Edible plants
Flora of Australia
Flora of Europe
Flora of North Africa
Flora of temperate Asia
Australian Aboriginal bushcraft
Bushfood
Medicinal plants of Africa
Medicinal plants of Asia
Medicinal plants of Oceania
Indian spices
Pickles
Spices
Garden plants of Asia
Garden plants of Europe