Jun 172014
 

Photo specimen : Cultivated

Specimen height : 1/2 meter

Trade names : Wild betel, Kadok, Chaphlu

Botanical name : Piper sarmentosum

Family : Piperaceae

Traits : Evergreen; Fast-growing; Herbaceous creeper; Low to medium altitude species; Perrenial; Shade tolerant

Recommendations : Backyards; Edible gardening; Farms; Home gardens; Landscaping; Large gardens; Living mulch; Medicinal plant; Natural ground cover; Ornamental; Pharmacological uses; Plantations; Potted/Container plant; Public spaces; Reclamation; Urban parks; Urban greening; Wildcrafting

Used for : Leaves are eaten with salad as condiment or used as vegetable or edible food wrap or as an alternative to Piper betel; Leaves, roots and fruits have uses in traditional medicine

Native range : India, Andaman Islands, China and Southeast Asia (including the Philippines)

National conservation status : Not threatened

Further reading :

An Investigation of the Vegetative Anatomy of Piper sarmentosum, and a Comparison with the Anatomy of Piper betle (Piperaceae) (Vijayasankar Raman, Ahmed M. Galal, Ikhlas A. Khan) file:///C:/Users/user/Downloads/Piper%20sarmentosum_anatomy.pdf

Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine - Does Oral Ingestion of Piper sarmentosum Cause Toxicity in Experimental Animals? (Maizura Mohd Zainudin, Zaiton Zakaria, Nor Anita Megat Mohd Nordin and Faizah Othman) http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2013/705950/

Natural Antioxidants: Piper sarmentosum (Kadok) and Morinda elliptica
(Mengkudu) (Vimala Subramaniam, Mohd. Ilham Adenan, Abdull Rashih Ahmad & Rohana Sahdan) http://nutriweb.org.my/publications/mjn009_1/mjn9n1_art5.pdf (6)

Apr 292013
 

Specimen : Wild

Specimen height : 3-5 meters

Habitats : On trees in moist thickets

Botanical name : Piper retrofractum

Local names : Litlit, Salimara

Trade names : Javanese long pepper, Balinese long pepper

Family : Piperaceae

Traits : Dioecious; Low altitude species; Perrenial; Herbaceous to woody climber

Recommendations : Backyards; Edible gardening; Farms; Fruit collector’s; Home gardens; Landscaping; Medicinal plant; Urban greening; Wildcrafting

Used for : Fruits used as spice; Fruits for pickling; Leaves, fruits and roots have uses in traditional medicine; Used in modern medicine

Native range : India, Bangladesh, China, Southeast Asia (including the Philippines)

National conservation status : Not threatened

Possible threats : Clearing of woodlands for agricultural, commercial or residential use

Further readings :

Flora of China Piper retrofractum http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200005592

Piperidine alkaloids from Piper retrofractum Vahl. protect against high-fat diet-induced obesity by regulating lipid metabolism and activating AMP-activated protein kinase. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21741367 (337)