''Piper aduncum'', the spiked pepper, matico, hierba del soldado, achotlín, cordoncillo, higuillo or higuillo de hoja menuda, is a flowering plant in the family

Piperaceae The Piperaceae (), also known as the pepper family, are a large family (biology), family of flowering plants. The group contains roughly 3,600 currently accepted species in five genera. The vast majority of species can be found within the two mai ...

. Like many

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

, the matico tree has a peppery odor. It grows wild on the coasts and in the forests of Central and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

and in the Interandean Valleys, up to

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

Culinary use

Like many species of the family, this tree has the characteristic smell of pepper. The fruits are used as a condiment and for flavoring

cocoa Cocoa may refer to: Chocolate * Chocolate * ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree * Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao'' * Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...

. It is sometimes used as a substitute for

long pepper Long pepper (''Piper longum''), sometimes called Indian long pepper or ''pippali'', is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. Long pepper has a taste sim ...

Traditional medicine

In the

Amazon Rainforest The Amazon rainforest, also called the Amazon jungle or Amazonia, is a Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist broadleaf tropical rainforest in the Amazon biome that covers most of the Amazon basin of South America. This basin ...

, many of the native tribes use matico leaves as an

antiseptic An antiseptic ( and ) is an antimicrobial substance or compound that is applied to living tissue to reduce the possibility of sepsis, infection, or putrefaction. Antiseptics are generally distinguished from ''antibiotics'' by the latter's abil ...

. In

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, it was used for stopping

hemorrhage Bleeding, hemorrhage, haemorrhage or blood loss, is blood escaping from the circulatory system from damaged blood vessels. Bleeding can occur internally, or externally either through a natural opening such as the mouth, nose, ear, urethra, ...

s and treating

ulcer An ulcer is a discontinuity or break in a bodily membrane that impedes normal function of the affected organ. According to Robbins's pathology, "ulcer is the breach of the continuity of skin, epithelium or mucous membrane caused by sloughin ...

s, and in European practice in the treatment of diseases of the genitals and urinary organs, such as those for which

cubeb ''Piper cubeba'', cubeb or tailed pepper is a plant in genus ''Piper (plant), Piper'', cultivated for its fruit and essential oil. It is mostly grown in Java (island), Java and Sumatra, hence sometimes called Java pepper. The fruits are gathere ...

was often prescribed.

Essential oil

The chemical composition of the essential oil differs depending on the origin, although phenylpropanoid

dillapiole Dillapiole is an organic chemical compound and essential oil commonly extracted from dill weed, though it can be found in a variety of other plants such as fennel root. This compound is closely related to apiole, having a methoxy group positioned ...

is the most cited component, followed by

myristicin Myristicin is a naturally occurring compound (an allylbenzene) found in common herbs and spices such as nutmeg. It is an insecticide, and has been shown to enhance the effectiveness of other insecticides. When ingested in high doses, myristicin ...

, 1,8-cineole and β-

ocimene Ocimenes are a group of isomeric hydrocarbons. The ocimenes are monoterpenes found within a variety of plants and fruits. α-Ocimene and the two β-ocimenes differ in the position of the isolated double bond: it is terminal in the alpha isomer. ...

. The essential oil of ''P. aduncum'' was considered a promising insecticide, acaricide and antiparasitic in a 2021 review.

Description

Matico is a tropical,

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

shrubby A shrub or 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 by their multiple ...

tree that grows to the height of with

lance The English term lance is derived, via Middle English '' launce'' and Old French '' lance'', from the Latin '' lancea'', a generic term meaning a wikt:lancea#Noun">lancea'', a generic term meaning a spear">wikt:lancea#Noun">lancea'', a generi ...

-shaped leaves that are long. Its fruit is a small

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is a type of fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pip'' (UK), ''pit'' (US), ''stone'', or ''pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed ...

with black seeds. It is native to Southern Mexico, the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

, and much of tropical

. It is grown in tropical Asia,

Polynesia Polynesia ( , ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in ...

, and

Melanesia Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from New Guinea in the west to the Fiji Islands in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea. The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Vanu ...

and can even be found in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, and

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. In some countries matico is considered as an

invasive weed An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native species ...

. In parts of

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

, although matico is notorious for drying out the soil in the areas where it is invasive; the wood of this plant is nonetheless used by local residents for a myriad of uses such as for fuel and fence posts.

Etymology

According to legends, the plant was discovered on the part of Europeans by a wounded Spanish soldier named Matico. The natives had been using it before the arrival of Europeans, and Matico learned, presumably from the local tribes, that applying the leaves to his wounds stopped bleeding. It began to be called "matico" or "soldier's herb". It was introduced into the practice of medicine in the United States and Europe by a Liverpool physician in 1839 as a

styptic An antihemorrhagic () agent is a substance that promotes hemostasis (a process which stops bleeding). It may also be known as a hemostatic (also spelled haemostatic) agent. Antihemorrhagic agents used in medicine have various mechanisms of action: ...

and

astringent An astringent (sometimes called adstringent) is a chemical that shrinks or constricts body tissues. The word derives from the Latin '' adstringere'', which means "to bind fast". Astringency, the dry, puckering or numbing mouthfeel caused by t ...

for wounds.

Taxonomy

''Piper aduncum'' was described by Linnaeus and published in ''Species Plantarum'' 1: 29. 1753.

Accepted varieties

* ''Piper aduncum'' var. ''cordulatum'' (C. DC.) Yunck. * ''Piper aduncum'' var. ''ossanum'' (C. DC.) Saralegui

Synonyms

* ''Artanthe adunca'' (L.) Miq. * ''Artanthe cearensis'' Miq. * ''Artanthe celtidifolia'' (Kunth) Miq. * ''Artanthe elongata'' (Vahl) Miq. * ''Artanthe galeottii'' Miq. * ''Artanthe galleoti'' Miq. * ''Artanthe granulosa'' Miq. * ''Artanthe vellozoana'' Miq. * ''Lepianthes granulatum'' Raf. * ''Piper acutifolium'' var. ''membranaceum'' C. DC. * ''Piper aduncifolium'' Trel. * ''Piper anguillaespicum'' Trel. * ''Piper angustifolium'' Ruiz & Pav. * ''Piper cardenasii'' Trel. * ''Piper celtidifolium'' Kunth * ''Piper disparispicum'' Trel. * ''Piper elongatifolium'' Trel. * ''Piper elongatum'' Vahl * ''Piper fatoanum'' C. DC. * ''Piper flavescens'' (C. DC.) Trel. * ''Piper guanaianum'' C. DC. * ''Piper herzogii'' C. DC. * ''Piper intersitum f. porcecitense'' Trel. * ''Piper kuntzei'' C. DC. * ''Piper lineatum'' var. ''hirtipetiolatum'' Trel. * ''Piper multinervium'' M. Martens & Galeotti * ''Piper nonconformans'' Trel. * ''Piper oblanceolatum'' var. ''fragilicaule'' Trel. * ''Piper pseudovelutinum'' var. ''flavescens'' C. DC. * ''Piper purpurascens'' D. Dietr. * ''Piper reciprocum'' Trel. * ''Piper submolle'' Trel. * ''Steffensia adunca'' (L.) Kunth * ''Steffensia angustifolia'' Kunth * ''Steffensia celtidifolia'' (Kunth) Kunth * ''Steffensia elongata'' (Vahl) Kunth

References

External links

''Piper aduncum'' by Alfred HarteminkFriday Fellow: "Spiked Pepper"
at Earthling Nature. {{Taxonbar, from=Q3281616 aduncum Flora of Mexico Flora of Belize Flora of Costa Rica Flora of El Salvador Flora of Guatemala Trees of Guatemala Flora of Honduras Flora of Nicaragua Flora of Panama Flora of Barbados Flora of Cuba Flora of Dominica Flora of Jamaica Flora of Martinique Flora of Puerto Rico Flora of Guyana Flora of Suriname Flora of Venezuela Flora of Brazil Flora of Bolivia Flora of Colombia Flora of Ecuador Flora of Peru Medicinal plants of North America Medicinal plants of South America Tropical agriculture Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Flora without expected TNC conservation status