The Piperaceae-A Family Profile

Abstract

The Piperaceae, while not so large a family as a number of others are nonetheless to be considered a comparatively big one, conservatively estimated to contain at least 2000 or probably more species. Members of the family occur throughout the tropics of both hemispheres, with major concentrations and centers of dispersal occurring in Latin America and in Malaysia. In the United States only a few species of Peperomia are to be found, in southern Florida. There are some who hold the opinion that far too many species have already been described on the basis of insignificant microcharacters of little taxonomic value. One can readily agree that questionable species have been described in the past, but it can be pointed out that more recently a considerable number have been and are being reduced to synonymy, and there appears little doubt that more will eventually be so reduced. This situation, of course, as every one recognizes, prevails elsewhere and is not peculiar to the Piperaceae, although the exuberance of species-making in that family may have been over-acute at times. Unfortunately, too many species have been founded on fragmentary and inadequate or immature material. A more unfortunate situation is that a number of species have been redescribed from similar material found across boundary lines in political areas different from that of the original type. While it is a fact that there has been a marked reduction of older names to synonymy, it must, at the same time, be acknowledged that a considerable number of new ones have been more recently added. The reason for this should readily be understood when one recalls the tremendous amount of collecting which has been carried out in Latin America, especially by American and other collectors during the past two or three decades. These collectors penetrated into areas hitherto botanically little known and in what might be termed the heart of piperland, and brought out great quantities of material. Much of this has proven to be new to science. Anyone collecting in the tropics where members of the Piperaceae are abundant quickly becomes impressed with the number and variety of species and their often rather local distribution. It is believed that as intensive explorations of these more inaccessible areas continue that many additional species will be brought to light. Linnaeus, in his Species plantarum, in 1753, recognized 17 species in the family, all of which were included in the genus Piper. It was not until about 40 years later, in 1794, that Ruiz and Pavon introduced Peperomia as the second genus. The family name was first used by L. C. Rich in Humboldt, Bonpland and Kunth 's Nova genera et species plantarum in 1815. During the next half century a number of additional genera, for the most part segregates of Piper, were described by Sprengel, Kunth, Miquel, and others. More recently several additional generic segregates have been made through the work of Trelease.