Long pepper (Piper longum) is a tropical flowering vine in the Piperaceae family native to India and parts of Southeast Asia. It produces narrow catkin-like fruiting spikes that are dried and used as a pungent spice, and the fruits and sometimes the root are the parts traditionally used in herbal and culinary preparations.
In Ayurveda and older spice traditions, long pepper was valued as a warming ingredient in digestive blends, tonics, and complex spice formulas. It is especially well known as one part of trikatu, the classic combination of long pepper, black pepper, and ginger or dried ginger.
