''Tasmannia lanceolata'', commonly known as pepper tree, native pepper, mountain pepper or mountain pepperbush, is a species of flowering plant in the family ''

Winteraceae Winteraceae is a primitive family of tropical trees and shrubs including 93 species in five genera. It is of particular interest because it is such a primitive angiosperm family, distantly related to Magnoliaceae, though it has a much more south ...

'', and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to south-eastern Australia. It is a

dioecious Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is ...

bushy shrub to small tree with lance-shaped or narrowly ellipic leaves, male and female flowers on separate plants, the flowers with 3 to 9 petals, and the fruit a deep maroon to glossy black

berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples of berries in the cul ...

Description

''Tasmannia lanceolata'' is a bushy shrub or small tree that typically grows to a height of and has smooth, reddish branchlets. Its leaves are lance-shaped to narrowly elliptic, long and wide on a

petiole Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, and ...

long. Male and female flowers are borne on separate plants, each flower with 3 to 9 linear or narrowly egg-shaped petals long and wide. Male flowers are borne on a

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

long and have 15 to 28

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s, female flowers are on a pedicel long with 1 or 2

carpel Gynoecium (; ; : gynoecia) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more ...

s with 9 to 18

ovules In seed plants, the ovule is the structure that gives rise to and contains the female reproductive cells. It consists of three parts: the ''integument'', forming its outer layer, the ''nucellus'' (or remnant of the megasporangium), and the fe ...

. Flowering occurs from September to November and the fruit is a spherical, deep maroon to glossy black berry long with 4 to 18 strongly curved seeds long.

Taxonomy

This species was first formally described in 1808 by

Jean Louis Marie Poiret Jean Louis Marie Poiret (11 June 1755 in Saint-Quentin, Aisne, Saint-Quentin7 April 1834 in Paris) was a French clergyman, Botany, botanist, and Exploration, explorer. From 1785 to 1786, he was sent by Louis XVI of France, Louis XVI to Algeri ...

, who gave it the name ''Winterana lanceolata'' in ''Encyclopédie Méthodique, Botanique'', from specimens collected by

Jacques Labillardière Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière (28 October 1755 – 8 January 1834) was a French biologist noted for his descriptions of the flora of Australia. Labillardière was a member of a voyage in search of the Jean-François de Galaup, comte ...

from the coast of Australia. In 1969,

Albert Charles Smith Albert Charles Smith (April 5, 1906 – May 23, 1999) was an American botanist who served as director of the National Museum of Natural History and Arnold Arboretum and was the former president of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists. Life S ...

transferred the species to ''

Tasmannia ''Tasmannia'' is a genus of about 36 species of flowering plants in the family Winteraceae, and is native to Australia and New Guinea, with one species ('' Tasmannia piperita'') also found in parts of Southeast Asia. Plants in the genus ''Tasm ...

'' as ''T. lanceolata'' in the journal ''

Taxon In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...

''.

Distribution and habitat

''Tasmannia lanceolata'' grows in forest and temperate rainforest south from the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, altitudes of in the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, and Tasmania.

Uses

Polygodial Polygodial is chemical compound found in dorrigo pepper, mountain pepper, horopito, canelo, paracress, water-pepper, and '' Dendrodoris limbata''. Chemically it is a drimane-type sesquiterpene dialdehyde of formula C15H22O2. Polygodial ...

has been identified as the primary active compound in ''Tasmannia lanceolata'', and is also responsible for its peppery taste. The fruits also contain

benzoic acid Benzoic acid () is a white (or colorless) solid organic compound with the formula , whose structure consists of a benzene ring () with a carboxyl () substituent. The benzoyl group is often abbreviated "Bz" (not to be confused with "Bn," which ...

flavanol Flavan-3-ols (sometimes referred to as flavanols) are a subgroup of flavonoids. They are derivatives of flavans that possess a 2-phenyl-3,4-dihydro-2''H''-chromen-3-ol skeleton. Flavan-3-ols are structurally diverse and include a range of comp ...

s, and

flavanone The flavanones, a type of flavonoids, are various aromatic, colorless ketones derived from flavone that often occur in plants as glycosides. List of flavanones * Blumeatin * Butin * Dichamanetin * Eriodictyol * Hesperetin * Hesperidin * Hom ...

s, as well as

eugenol Eugenol is an allyl chain-substituted guaiacol, a member of the allylbenzene class of chemical compounds. It is a colorless to pale yellow, aromatic oily liquid extracted from certain essential oils especially from clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, ...

methyl eugenol Methyl eugenol (allylveratrol) is a natural chemical compound classified as a phenylpropene, a type of phenylpropanoid. It is the methyl ether of eugenol and is important to insect behavior and pollination. It is found in various essential oils. ...

, and

gallic acid Gallic acid (also known as 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic acid) is a trihydroxybenzoic acid with the formula C6 H2( OH)3CO2H. It is classified as a phenolic acid. It is found in gallnuts, sumac, witch hazel, tea leaves, oak bark, and other plant ...

, and also the

glycoside In chemistry, a glycoside is a molecule in which a sugar is bound to another functional group via a glycosidic bond. Glycosides play numerous important roles in living organisms. Many plants store chemicals in the form of inactive glycosides. ...

quercetin Quercetin is a plant flavonol from the flavonoid group of polyphenols. It is found in many fruits, vegetables, leaves, seeds, and grains; capers, red onions, and kale are common foods containing appreciable amounts of it. It has a bitter flavor ...

rutin Rutin (rutoside, quercetin-3-O-rutinoside or sophorin) is the glycoside combining the flavonol quercetin and the disaccharide rutinose (α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→6)-β-D-glucopyranose). It is a flavonoid glycoside found in a wide variety of pla ...

, and possibly

vitamin D Vitamin D is a group of structurally related, fat-soluble compounds responsible for increasing intestinal absorption of calcium, magnesium, and phosphate, along with numerous other biological functions. In humans, the most important compo ...

. The leaf and berry have long been used as a

spice In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...

, typically dried. The 1889 book ''The Useful Native Plants of Australia'' records that common names included "Pepper Tree" and that "the drupe is used as a condiment, being a fair substitute for pepper, or rather allspice ..The leaves and bark also have a hot, biting, cinnamon-like taste." More recently, it has become popularised as a

bushfood Bush tucker, also called bush food, is any food native to Australia and historically eaten by Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islander peoples, but it can also describe any native flora, fauna, or fungi used for culinary or medicinal ...

condiment. It can be added to curries, cheeses, and alcoholic beverages. It is exported to Japan to flavour ''

wasabi Wasabi (Japanese language, Japanese: , , or , ) or Japanese horseradish (''Eutrema japonicum'' syn. ''Wasabia japonica'') is a plant of the family Brassicaceae, which also includes horseradish and Mustard plant, mustard in other genus, genera. ...

''. The berries are sweet and fruity at first with a lingering peppery aftertaste. Dried ''T. lanceolata'' berries and leaves have strong

antimicrobial An antimicrobial is an agent that kills microorganisms (microbicide) or stops their growth (bacteriostatic agent). Antimicrobial medicines can be grouped according to the microorganisms they are used to treat. For example, antibiotics are used aga ...

activity against food spoilage organisms. It also has high

antioxidant Antioxidants are Chemical compound, compounds that inhibit Redox, oxidation, a chemical reaction that can produce Radical (chemistry), free radicals. Autoxidation leads to degradation of organic compounds, including living matter. Antioxidants ...

activity. Low

safrole Safrole is an organic compound with the formula CH2O2C6H3CH2CH=CH2. It is a colorless oily liquid, although impure samples can appear yellow. A member of the phenylpropanoid family of natural products, it is found in sassafras plants, among ot ...

clonal selections are grown in plantations for commercial use, as safrole is considered a low-risk

toxin A toxin is a naturally occurring poison produced by metabolic activities of living cells or organisms. They occur especially as proteins, often conjugated. The term was first used by organic chemist Ludwig Brieger (1849–1919), derived ...

. Used in colonial medicine as a substitute for Winter's bark, a

stomachic Stomachic is a historic term for a medicine that serves to tone the stomach, improving its function and increase appetite. While many herbal remedies claim stomachic effects, modern pharmacology does not have an equivalent term for this type ...

, it was also used for treating

scurvy Scurvy is a deficiency disease (state of malnutrition) resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, fatigue, and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, anemia, decreased red blood cells, gum d ...

. Tasmanian pepper is one of a number of native Australian herbs and food species being supported by the Australian Native Food Industry Ltd, which brings together producers of food species from all parts of Australia. The pepperberry can be used as a fish poison. It can be grown as an ornamental garden plant. Its berries attract birds, including

currawong Currawongs are three species of medium-sized passerine birds belonging to the genus ''Strepera'' in the family Artamidae native to Australia. These are the grey currawong (''Strepera versicolor''), pied currawong (''S. graculina''), and black ...

s, that feed on them. It can be propagated from cuttings or seed, and can grow in a well-drained acidic soil with some shade, but is sensitive to ''

Phytophthora cinnamomi ''Phytophthora cinnamomi'', also known as cinnamon fungus, is a soil-borne water mould that produces an infection which causes a condition in plants variously called "dieback", "root rot", or (in certain '' Castanea'' species), "ink disease". O ...

''. Garden cultivars include 'Mt. Wellington', a compact plant with coppery new growth, and 'Suzette', a variegated cultivar.

References

External Links