Piper (genus) - Piper and Humans

Piper and Humans

Many pepper plants make good ornamentals for gardens in subtropical or warmer regions. Pepper vines can be used much as ivy in temperate climates, while other species, like Lacquered Pepper (P. magnificum) grow as sizeable, compact and attractive shrubs with tough and shiny leaves. Smaller species, like Celebes Pepper (P. ornatum) with its finely patterned leaves, are also suitable as indoor pot plants.

Unsustainable logging of tropical primary forests is threatening a number of peppers. The extent of the effect of such wholesale habitat destruction on the genus is unknown, but it is to be noted that in the forests of Ecuador – the only larger region for which comprehensive data exists – more than a dozen species are known to be on the brink of extinction. On the other hand, other Piper species (e.g. Spiked Pepper, P. aduncum) have been widely distributed as a result of human activity and are a major invasive species in certain areas.

The most significant human use of Piper is not for its looks however, but ultimately for the wide range of powerful secondary compounds found particularly in the fruits.