Pepper comes from a perennial, woody, climbing vine native to south-western India but is now cultivated in Africa, Brazil, China, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. It grows to a height of 2-5 metres and uses surrounding trees and structures to support itself. The leaves are entire, alternate, 5-10cm in length and cordately ovate in shape, dark glossy-green in colour. The flowers are small, yellowy-white to greenish-white in colour and present in clusters of long drooping spikes 4-8cm in length in the leaf nodes. As the pepper berries develop, the spikes lengthen to between 7-15cm.
