Black Pepper Plant

The black pepper plant is a climbing vine cultivated for its pungent fruits, commonly referred to as peppercorns. Native to India, the plant thrives in tropical climates with well-drained soil and abundant sunlight. Cultivation involves supporting the vines on trellises or poles to facilitate growth and harvesting. The peppercorns, harvested at various stages of ripeness, undergo different processing methods that yield different types of pepper – black, white, and green. Black peppercorns, the most widely used variety, are harvested when fully mature and then dried, which causes the outer skin to darken and wrinkle. Cultivation of black pepper in Oceanyka has been going on for over a millennium, as it was one of the earliest cash crops introduced by Malay traders.