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Summary
Betel leaf (Piper sarmentosum) is a perennial climber of the family Piperaceae, which includes Black pepper (Piper nigrum) and kava kava (Piper methysticum). Not to be confused with Betel (Piper betle), a completely different plant with different uses to Betel leaf. It grows to 10m long, though stems tend to creep along the ground with off-shoots to 0.5m high. Betel leaf is an excellent evergreen understorey plant in woodlands providing groundcover in shady locations. Leaves have a nice peppery flavour and are eaten raw or cooked. They are delicious in salads or added to curries or blanched and used as a potherb. Larger leaves are lightly steamed and used as wraps for vegetables.
Physical Characteristics
Piper sarmentosum is an evergreen Perennial Climber growing to 10 m (32ft) by 0.2 m (0ft 8in) at a medium rate.
See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. The flowers are pollinated by Insects.
Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) or semi-shade (light woodland). It prefers moist or wet soil.
UK Hardiness Map
US Hardiness Map
Synonyms
P. albispicum C. DC. P. baronii C. DC. P. brevicaule C. DC. P. lolot C. DC. P. pierrei C. DC. P. saigonense C. DC.
Plant Habitats
Edible Uses
Edible Parts: Flowers Leaves
Edible Uses: Condiment Tea
Leaves are eaten raw or cooked [296, 301 ]. A nice peppery flavour, they are delicious chopped up into salads [296 ]. The leaves can also be added to curries or blanched and used as a potherb [301 ]. Larger leaves can be up to 10cm across, and these can be lightly steamed and then used as wraps for vegetables etc. [296 ]. In Thailand, the leaf wraps are a favourite snack, 'mieng kum', with fillings of peanuts, shrimps, shallots with lime and raw ginger. The dried infructescence is occasionally used as a spice [310 ]. Soaking the leaves in cold water with a bit of sugar for two hours before use subtly alters the flavour. Leaves make a tea.
References More on Edible Uses
Medicinal Uses
Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Anodyne Antibilious Antidiarrhoeal Antiinflammatory Antirheumatic Carminative Expectorant Odontalgic
The whole plant is anodyne, anti-inflammatory and expectorant. It is used to cure skin diseases, rheumatism, ostealgia, lumbago, oedema, headache, dyspepsia, colic, nausea, diarrhoea and toothache [283, 310 ]. It is used in combination with other plants for treating mushroom poisoning and snakebite [283]. The whole plant, preferably harvested when in flower, is dried and stored[310 ]. The leaf is carminative[310 ].
References More on Medicinal Uses
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Other Uses
Houseplant
Grows well as an understorey shrub in woodlands [296]. Other Uses: Hanging basket or large pot. Groundcover. Suitable as Annual.
Special Uses
Food Forest Ground Cover
References More on Other Uses
Cultivation details
It prefers rich, well-drained soil with partial shade but can tolerate full shade. It likes moist soil but does not tolerate waterlogging. Frost will damage the leaves but not kill the plant once it is well established. The plant can be invasive, so it needs to be given space to roam - it does well as an understorey plant in a woodland [296 ]. It makes a good ground cover under trees in subtropical and tropical areas. It thrives in the right position and can be difficult to remove because of its suckering habit. It can be grown successfully in colder regions in a hanging basket or large pot and moved to a warm, sheltered position in winter. The stems can be up to 10 metres long, though they tend to creep along the ground with off-shoots to 0.5m [266 ]. A dioecious plant, both male and female forms need to be grown if seed is required [266 ]. It grows in forests in wet places near villages and from sea level to 1000 m altitude in S China [1-4]. In Hawaii, it is grown under shade cloth [1-4]. Dry winds turn the leaves brown, spoiling their appearance [1-4].
References Carbon Farming Information and Carbon Sequestration Information
Temperature Converter
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Plant Propagation
Seed. Easy to propagate from cuttings.
Other Names
If available other names are mentioned here
Lolot pepper, Vegetable pepper, Aimanas ai leten, 'i: le:d, Bo la lot, Cabean, Cha phlu, Cha plu, Chabai, Chaphlu, Chhiplou, Chi phlu, Chiaobiouluo, Daun kadok, Jia ju, Julo, Japloo, Jeeploo, Kadok batu, Karuk, l(oos)t tat ph(aws)t, La lot, Lot, Morech ansai, Nom wa, Pa dan, Pake, Pak ereart, Patai-butu, Phak i leut, Phak ee lert, Phak nang lert, Phlu ling, Poivre lolot, Sirih tanah, Tat bat, Ti(ee)u [1-4].
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Found In
Countries where the plant has been found are listed here if the information is available
Asia, Australia, Cambodia, China, East Timor, India, Indochina, Indonesia (native), Laos, Malaysia, Marquesas, Pacific, Philippines, SE Asia, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam [1-4].
Weed Potential
Right plant wrong place. We are currently updating this section.
Please note that a plant may be invasive in one area but may not in your area so it’s worth checking.
The plant can be invasive.
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants Status : Not Listed.
Growth: S = slow M = medium F = fast. Soil: L = light (sandy) M = medium H = heavy (clay). pH: A = acid N = neutral B = basic (alkaline). Shade: F = full shade S = semi-shade N = no shade. Moisture: D = dry M = Moist We = wet Wa = water.
Expert comment
Author
Roxb.
Botanical References
Links / References
For a list of references used on this page please go here
A special thanks to Ken Fern for some of the information used on this page.
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Subject : Piper sarmentosum
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