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Piper kelleyi

Piper kelleyi
Photo: E.J. Tepe, CC BY 4.0
Family
Piperaceae (Pepper family)
Native range
Ecuador to Peru
Climate
wet tropical

About

Piper kelleyi is a wild relative of black pepper that grows in Ecuador and Peru. The species is named in honor of American botanist Walter Almond Kelley and is a member of the Macrostachys clade of the pepper genus. Piper kelleyi features long, white, pendulous inflorescences and large leaves. It is mostly restricted to montane elevations and produces secondary compounds that deter most herbivores. The most important secondary compounds discovered from P. kelleyi are a prenylated benzoic acid and 2 chromates that are unique to this species.

Piper kelleyi was scientifically described on February 7, 2014, in the journal PhytoKeys. The pinkish undersides of the leaves gave this species the nickname "pink belly" in the research team. Several insect species are entirely dependent on Piper kelleyi for survival, including many specialized caterpillars in the genus Eois (Geometridae).

Other Piper plants

Piper abajoense · Piper abalienatum · Piper achupallasense · Higuillo de hoja menuda · Piper angamarcanum · Vera cruz pepper · Piper azuaiense · Piper baezanum · Piper baezense · Piper begoniiforme · Betel · Madagascan Wild Pepper

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Piper kelleyi by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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