code: 928
In a well-drained spot it is remarkably hardy
Family: Winteraceae
Common name: Mountain Pepper, “Tasmanian Pepper”, Cornish Pepper
Plant Classification: Hardy shrub
Minimum Height: 1.8 meters
Maximum Height: 3.0 meters
Showy, pale pink male flowers and modest white female flowers appear on dark red shoots in spring on this attractive and very striking evergreen shrub. In a well-drained spot it is remarkably hardy.
Sowing advice:
These seeds have already been thoroughly cleaned and cold-stored for several months. They should be sown into well-drained, sandy compost at any time of the year, and covered to their own depth with sand or grit. No artificial heat is needed; the seed tray is best left in a cool spot outside and kept moist. Seeds germinate very slowly indeed in the spring after a chilling in the cold compost, regardless of when they are sown. Some seeds may take more than a year to germinate.
Uses:
The leaf and berry are used as a spice, typically dried. Tasmanian pepperberry was used as a colonial pepper substitute. More recently, it has become popularised as bushfood condiment. It can be added to curries, cheeses, and alcoholic beverages. It is exported to Japan to flavour wasabi. The berries are sweet and fruity at first with a lingering peppery aftertaste. Dried T. lanceolata berries and leaves have strong antimicrobial activity against food spoilage organisms. It also has high antioxidant activity. Low safrole clonal selections are grown in plantations for commercial use, as safrole is considered a low-risk toxin.
Used in colonial medicine as a substitute for Winter’s bark, a stomachic, it was also used for treating scurvy. Tasmanian pepper is one of a number of native Australian herbs and food species being supported by the Australian Native Food Industry Ltd, which brings together producers of food species from all parts of Australia. The pepperberry can be used as a fish poison.
The 1889 book ‘The Useful Native Plants of Australia’ records that common names included “Pepper Tree” and that “The drupe is used as a condiment, being a fair substitute for pepper, or rather allspice The leaves and bark also have a hot, biting, cinnamon-like taste.”
It can be grown as a garden plant. Its berries attract birds, including Currawongs, that feed on them. It can be propagated from cuttings or seed, and can grow in a well-drained acidic soil with some shade, but is sensitive to Phytophthora cinnamomi.
Culture
Winter hardy to USDA Zones 8-10 where it is best grown in moist, fertile, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Prefers part shade. Soils should not be allowed to dry out. Site in sheltered locations. May be winter hardy to Zone 7 with protection. Plants are dioecious (male and female flowers on separate plants).
Noteworthy Characteristics
mountain pepper, is a medium sized red-stemmed, dense, evergreen shrub that is native to woodlands and cool temperate rainforests in the southeastern parts of the Commonwealth of Australia (Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania). In Tasmania, it commonly grows from sea level to alpine regions. This shrub typically matures to 6-10’ tall and to 4-8’ wide over time. Showy red stems are clad with contrasting aromatic, leathery, lanceolate to narrow-elliptic leaves (to 5” long) which are deep glossy green above and pale green beneath. Pale yellow to creamy white flowers bloom in April-May. Male flowers usually have 5-8 petals whereas female flowers usually have 4 petals. Flowers on female plants, if pollinated, are followed by spherical black berries (to 1/3” diameter) which ripen in early fall.
Leaves and berries are currently used in Australian cuisine for adding spicy, peppery flavor to a variety of foods. Both leaves and berries (sometimes called pepperberries) contain hot-tasting compounds (polygodials). When dried, the pepperberries become grindable peppercorns which serve as a pepper substitute. The leaves produce a pleasant aroma when crushed and have a hot, spicy taste when chewed.
