Herb: Mountain Pepper


Latin name: Litsea cubeba


Synonyms: Laurus cubeba


Family: Lauraceae (Laurel Family)



Medicinal use of Mountain Pepper:

Antiphlogistic, expectorant. The root, stem, leaves and fruits are all used as medicine for eliminating windevil and dispelling the cold in the body, allaying swelling and pain. The fruit is used as medicine is known as "Bi Cheng Qie".

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Deciduous
Shrub

Height:
7 m
(23 feet)

Flowering:
March
to April

Habitat of the herb:

Sunny slopes, thickets, sparse forests, roadsides, watersides, 500 - 3200 metres in Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan, Zhejiang.

Edible parts of Mountain Pepper:

Root. Fruit. The source of an essential oil, it is also used as a flavouring.

Other uses of the herb:

The flowers, leaves and fruit walls are used for extracting an essential oil rich in citral which is used as a perfume and in medicine. The fruit core contains 61.8% of oil which is used for industry. The wood is used for general furniture and construction, etc.

Propagation of Mountain Pepper:

Seed -

Cultivation of the herb:

Sunny slopes, thickets, sparse forests, roadsides, watersides, 500 - 3200 metres in Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan, Zhejiang.

Known hazards of Litsea cubeba:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.