Piper macropiper is a species of plant in the pepper family Piperaceae, native to southeast Asia, Australia and the western Pacific. It was first described in 1800.
Description Piper macropiper is a creeper or root climber with a stem diameter up to . Leaves are glossy green above and glaucous underneath, and have entire margins. They are ovate in shape, that is, they are broad at the base and narrow to a point at the apex. They measure up to long and wide, with two or three pairs of secondary veins radiating from the midrib close to the base and extending to the leaftip.
Inflorescences are spikes up to long, attached to the stem opposite the leaves by a peduncle about long. This species is dioecious, meaning that (functionally female) and (functionally male) flowers are borne on separate plants. Flowers are minute, white, and the fruits are also very small, red, and tightly packed together on the spike.
Distribution and habitat It is native to the following regions: Mainland and maritime S.E. Asia: Taiwan, Nicobar Islands, Thailand, Borneo, Jawa, Lesser Sunda Islands, Malaya, Maluku, Philippines, Sulawesi, Sumatera. Australasia: New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Northern Territory, Queensland. Western Pacific: Caroline Islands, Samoa, Santa Cruz Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, Wallis-Futuna Islands.
In Australia, P. macropiper grows in rainforest at altitudes from sea level to .
Taxonomy The species was first described by Welsh naturalist, traveller and writer Thomas Pennant in the fourth volume of his work Outlines of the Globe, titled The view of the Malayan Isles, New Holland, and the Spicy Islands, which was published in 1800.
Two varieties are recognised: P. macropiper var. macrophylla (found in Papua New Guinea), and the autonym P. macropiper var. macropiper. A total of 40 synonyms exist for the original name and the two varietal names (see synonyms list).
Etymology The name Piper comes from peperi, a Benghalese word for the genus. The species epithet macropiper is derived from 'macro-' combined with the generic name, in reference to its long fruit.
Conservation This species is listed as least concern under the Queensland Government's Nature Conservation Act. , it has not been assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
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References
External links
Map of occurrences of this species at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility Observations of this species on iNaturalist Images of this species on Flickriver.com