This looks like Piper Nigrum to me. It is black pepper. In particular, I think the old Balan Kotta variety. From the shape of the leaves and the length of the spikes lit looks like Balankotta variety of black pepper just flowering. The tiny specks are the flowers which are pollinated by raindrops. Since it is growing in the wild, it could also be one of the wild varieties which bear very few corns. We can not be sure until the pollination is complete. it could be a seed dispersed by the bird. Birds like the red whiskered bulbuls swallow a lot of ripe berries. Regards Yazdy.
On Sat, Sep 18, 2010 at 1:55 PM, Muthu Karthick <[email protected]> wrote: > Dear all, > Kindly help to identify this wild twiner found in off-shoots of Western > ghats; the taste is similar to betel-leaf. Is this *Piper betle* L. or > could this be *Piper attenuatum*? > > *Date/Time-* > > 12-09-2010 / 03:00 PM > > *Location- Place, Altitude, GP* > > ca.420asl; Natham; Dindigul dist; TN > > *Habitat-** Garden**/ Urban/ Wild/ Type-* > > wild; riparian > > *Plant Habit-* > > twiner herb > > *Height/Length-* > > 3 -4 metre > > *Leaves Type/ Shape/ Size-* > > ca.8 X 12cm; glabrous > > *Inflorescence Type/ Size-* > > axillary spike; to 10cm long > > *Flowers Size/ Colour/ Calyx/ Bracts-* > > > *Fruits Type/ Shape/ Size Seeds- * > > *Other Information like Fragrance, Pollinator, Uses etc.- * > * > * > > -- > Muthu Karthick, N > Junior Research Fellow > Care Earth Trust > Chennai - 61 > www.careearthtrust.org >
