Piperaceae
Piper

Piper umbellatum L.

First published in Sp. Pl.: 30 (1753)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Mexico to Tropical America. It is a subshrub or shrub and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome. It is used as a medicine and for food.

Descriptions

Piperaceae, Bernard Verdcourt. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1996

Morphology General Habit
Shrub or woody herb 0.9–4 m. tall, with many subsucculent stems forming a dense clump from a woody rootstock; stems scrambling, thick, glabrous, with adventitious roots.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves dark green above, greyish beneath, almost circular to oblate or reniform, 5–36(–40) cm. long, 4.6–37(–42) cm. wide, shortly acuminate to rounded at the apex, deeply cordate at the base, fairly thin, ± glandular punctate, sparsely to densely pubescent on the nerves above and beneath and also on the conspicuously reticulate venation beneath; nerves 11–13(–15), palmate; petiole 6.5–30(–33) cm. long, dilated and sheathing basally.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers hermaphrodite; spikes white, whitish grey, greenish or cream to yellow, 2–8 arranged in false umbels on reduced leafless shoots, (3–)4–12 cm. long, 1.5–3 mm. wide, glabrous; peduncles 0.4–1.7 cm. long; peduncular bracts white, narrow, 6–8 mm. long, deciduous; floralbracts triangular to ± round, 0.5–0.8 mm. wide, subpeltate, white-fimbriate at margins.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens 2.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Stigma
Stigmas 3.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruits brownish, obpyramidal, 3-angled, 0.6–0.8 mm. long, 0.4–0.6 mm. wide.
Habitat
Evergreen forest undergrowth, swamp forest, elephant grass, river banks, old rubber plantations, always in damp places; (0–)150–1800(–2100 fide K.T.S.L.) m.
Distribution
Guinea Bissau to Angola, Zaire, São Tomé, Bioko, S. Sudan, Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Seychelles, Madagascar, Mascarene Is.pantropical K1 K3 K4 K5 T2 T3 T4 T6 T7 U2 U3 U4 Z
[FTEA]

Bernal, R., Gradstein, S.R. & Celis, M. (eds.). 2015. Catálogo de plantas y líquenes de Colombia. Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. http://catalogoplantasdecolombia.unal.edu.co

Distribution
Nativa en Colombia; Alt. 0 - 2200 m.; Amazonia, Andes, Guayana y Serranía de La Macarena, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
Morphology General Habit
Hierba, arbusto
Conservation
Preocupación Menor
[CPLC]

Piperaceae, M.A. Diniz. Flora Zambesiaca 9:2. 1997

Morphology General Habit
A shrub up to 3(4) m high, with numerous stems arising from a woody rootstock, becoming scrambling.
Morphology Stem
Stems subsucculent, thick, slightly striate, glabrous, with adventitious roots.
Morphology Leaves Petiole
Petiole up to 30 cm long, dilated and amplexicaul at the base, grooved above, terete beneath, glabrous, glandular-punctate.
Morphology Leaves
Leaf lamina (5)6–36(40) ? (4.5)6–32(42) cm, subcircular to reniform, ± shortly acuminate at the apex, deeply cordate at the base, membranous, with a mint-like fragrance, discolorous, dark green and slightly shining above, lighter green below and ± glandular-punctate, sparsely to densely pubescent on the nerves above and beneath and also on the conspicuously reticulate venation beneath, ± ciliate at the margins; nerves 11–13(15), palmate, impressed above and prominent below, reticulation conspicuous below.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescences glabrous, consisting of 2–8 spikes umbellately arranged on reduced leafless axillary shoots 4–12 cm long; umbel bracts up to 8 mm long, deciduous; spikes (4)5–10(12) cm long and c. 0.3 cm in diameter, bright greenish-white, glabrous, with slender peduncles 0.4–1.7 cm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers bisexual; floral bracts 0.5 mm across triangular to ± subcircular, distinctly white fimbriate at the margins, petiolulate; stamens 2; stigmas 3.Fruit c. 0.6–0.8 ? 0.4–0.5 mm, obpyramidal, trigonous, brownish when ripe, glandular-punctate.
[FZ]

Bernal, R., G. Galeano, A. Rodríguez, H. Sarmiento y M. Gutiérrez. 2017. Nombres Comunes de las Plantas de Colombia. http://www.biovirtual.unal.edu.co/nombrescomunes/

Vernacular
anisillo, congo, cordoncillo, hoja de rayo, santamaría
[UNAL]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Distribution
Biogeografic region: Amazonia, Andean, Guiana Shield. Elevation range: 0–2200 m a.s.l. Native to Colombia. Colombian departments: Amazonas, Antioquia, Atlántico, Caldas, Caquetá, Cauca, Chocó, Cundinamarca, Guainía, Magdalena, Norte de Santander, Putumayo, Santander, Valle del Cauca.
Habit
Herb, Shrub.
Conservation
National Red List of Colombia (2021): Potential LC.
Ecology
Habitat according IUCN Habitats Classification: forest and woodland, savanna, shrubland, wetlands (inland), artificial - terrestrial.
Vernacular
Contraverrugosa, Santa maría, Santa maría macho, Uña de caballo
[UPFC]

Piperaceae, Hutchinson and Dalziel. Flora of West Tropical Africa 1:1. 1954

Morphology General Habit
A shrub, 4–6 ft. high
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
White narrow catkins
Ecology
In moist shady places.
[FWTA]

Uses

Use Gene Sources
Used as gene sources.
Use Food
Used for food.
Use Materials
Used as material.
Use Medicines
Medical uses.
[UPFC]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Catálogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Colombian resources for Plants made Accessible

    • ColPlantA 2021. Published on the Internet at http://colplanta.org
    • https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    • Flora Zambesiaca
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of West Tropical Africa

    • Flora of West Tropical Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images

  • Universidad Nacional de Colombia

    • ColPlantA database
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0