Excerpts from Jim Conrad's
Naturalist Newsletter

from the March 17, 2008 Newsletter written in the community of 28 de Junio, in the Central Valley 8 kms west of Pujiltic, elev. ~700m (2300ft), ~N16.332°, ~W92.471°; Chiapas, MÉXICO
PIPER MARGINATUM

PIPER MARGINATUM

Above you can see another common species here, PIPER MARGINATUM. Piper MARGINATUM is one of few Piper species with leaves with several pronounced veins radiating from the petiole's point of attachment at the blade's bottom instead of having a single midrib extending up the leaf, with several secondary veins branching off it.

The most famous of all Pipers is Piper nigrum from tropical Asia. That's the plant from which black pepper is made. Peppercorns are dried Piper nigrum fruits. "White pepper" is made from dried Piper nigrum fruits from which the ovary walls have been removed. Our Pipers don't produce fruits big enough to fool with.