Pepper is a tropical plant that grows in hot humid areas with a high rainfall. Locally it can only be grown in the Lowveld and along the northern coastal areas of KwaZulu-Natal.
Botanical characteristics
- The pepper plant is an evergreen perennial. It attaches itself to trees or trellises by means of aerial roots and is not a parasitic plant.
- The leaves are oblong, pointed at the tip and arranged alternately.
- Pepper plants have a shallow root system. There are usually a few major lateral roots that can penetrate the soil to a depth of 2 m.
- The white flowers are minute and mainly hermaphroditic (both sexes in one flower). The flowers converge in oblong spikes which later form clusters.