What is "long pepper"

Pepper \Pep"per\, n. [OE. peper, AS. pipor, L. piper, fr. Gr. ?, ?, akin to Skr. pippala, pippali.]

1. A well-known, pungently aromatic condiment, the dried berry, either whole or powdered, of the Piper nigrum.

   Note: Common, or black, pepper is made from the whole berry, dried just before maturity; white pepper is made from the ripe berry after the outer skin has been removed by maceration and friction. It has less of the peculiar properties of the plant than the black pepper. Pepper is used in medicine as a carminative stimulant.

2. (Bot.) The plant which yields pepper, an East Indian woody climber ( Piper nigrum), with ovate leaves and apetalous flowers in spikes opposite the leaves. The berries are red when ripe. Also, by extension, any one of the several hundred species of the genus Piper, widely dispersed throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the earth.

3. Any plant of the genus Capsicum, and its fruit; red pepper; as, the bell pepper. Note: The term pepper has been extended to various other fruits and plants, more or less closely resembling the true pepper, esp. to the common varieties of Capsicum. See Capsicum, and the Phrases, below. African pepper, the Guinea pepper. See under Guinea. Cayenne pepper. See under Cayenne. Chinese pepper, the spicy berries of the Xanthoxylum piperitum, a species of prickly ash found in China and Japan. Guinea pepper. See under Guinea, and Capsicum. Jamaica pepper. See Allspice. Long pepper.

   1. The spike of berries of Piper longum, an East Indian shrub.

   2. The root of Piper methysticum (syn. Macropiper methysticum) of the family Piperaceae. See Kava.

      Malaguetta pepper, or Meleguetta pepper, the aromatic seeds of the Amomum Melegueta, an African plant of the Ginger family. They are sometimes used to flavor beer, etc., under the name of grains of Paradise.

      Red pepper. See Capsicum.

      Sweet pepper bush (Bot.), an American shrub ( Clethra alnifolia), with racemes of fragrant white flowers; -- called also white alder.

      Pepper box or Pepper caster, a small box or bottle, with a perforated lid, used for sprinkling ground pepper on food, etc.

      Pepper corn. See in the Vocabulary.

      Pepper elder (Bot.), a West Indian name of several plants of the Pepper family, species of Piper and Peperomia.

      Pepper moth (Zo["o]l.), a European moth ( Biston betularia) having white wings covered with small black specks.

      Pepper pot, a mucilaginous soup or stew of vegetables and cassareep, much esteemed in the West Indies.

      Pepper root. (Bot.). See Coralwort.

      pepper sauce, a condiment for the table, made of small red peppers steeped in vinegar.

      Pepper tree (Bot.), an aromatic tree ( Drimys axillaris) of the Magnolia family, common in New Zealand. See Peruvian mastic tree, under Mastic.

n. The flowering vine ''Piper longum'' in the genus ''Piper'' (pepper) of family Piperaceae, cultivated for its characteristically long fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning.

1. n. slender tropical climber of the eastern Himalayas [syn: Piper longum]

2. plant bearing very hot and finely tapering long peppers; usually red [syn: cayenne, cayenne pepper, chili pepper, chilli pepper, jalapeno, Capsicum annuum longum]

Long pepper (Piper longum), sometimes called Indian long pepper (Pipli), 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 similar to, but hotter than, that of its close relative Piper nigrum - from which black, green and white pepper are obtained.

The fruit of the pepper consists of many minuscule fruits — each about the size of a poppy seed — embedded in the surface of a flower spike that closely resembles a hazel tree catkin. Like Piper nigrum, the fruits contain the alkaloid piperine, which contributes to their pungency. Another species of long pepper, Piper retrofractum, is native to Java, Indonesia. The fruits of this plant are often confused with chili peppers, which belong to the genus Capsicum , originally from the Americas.