Pepperwood is an ancient Japanese spice with a pungent aroma, literally translated as “mountain pepper.” Latin name: Zanthoxylum piperitum, or Zanthoxylum sansho. Also called "sansho". The pepper tree is such a close relative of the Sichuan pepper that they are often lumped together into the same genus. Their taste is affected by different climatic conditions.

Other names:

• German Japanischer Pfeffer, Szechuan Pfeffer;
• English Japanese pepper, Sansho Japanese pepper;
• fr. Poivre du Sichuan.

Don't confuse sansho with Szechuan pepper, although they are very similar.

Appearance

An evergreen tree (shrub) sansho, belongs to the Rutaceae family. Its genus includes the herbs rue and ash, kumquat and lemon tree.

• Bushes or trees have a too thin trunk, growing up to 10 meters.
• Branches with complex, pinnate, ovate leaves of 5-9 pairs and long spines. Young leaves have a lemon-fresh flavor.
• Tiny yellow or yellow-green flowers, about 5 mm, are produced in umbels. Flowering occurs in April-May.
• Fruits and nuts

The spice sansho is obtained from the fruit of a tree, but it would probably be more correct to call it a bush, due to its thin trunk and branches

Sansho flowers are very small, but have a fairly strong refreshing scent

The fragrant sansho leaves are ovoid in shape with jagged edges, and the ripe berries are red in color.

Where does it grow

The natural range extends in Japan from Hokkaido to Kyushu. Outside the country, shrubs are extremely rare.

The pepper tree is cultivated only in Japan, so it is practically impossible to find it anywhere else

Method of making spices

The leaves, flowers, fruits and even the wood of the pepper tree have a scent. Spices are prepared almost all year round.

• In spring, leaves and buds are used; they are called ki-no-me. Greens are sold fresh or salted.
• Dried leaves can be used as a separate seasoning.
• The flowers are also used as a spice and are collected in early summer.
• In July, green (unripe) berries are collected, but only their shell is used for food.
• In autumn, leaves and peels of ripe fruits are collected. The pre-dried raw material is ground into a powder called “sansho-no-ko”. This mixture is sold in seasoning departments, in sealed bags or jars. Suitable for soups and noodles, giving them a piquant taste and aroma.

In Japan, fresh pepper tree leaves are sold in small containers and can be dried and used as a seasoning all year round.

The leaves and fruits of the pepper tree are used in various fractions and levels of maturity - in powders, crushed, whole

The unripe peel is used to make a spice in powder form, and it is also added to hot spice mixtures.

Peculiarities

Despite the fact that the pepper tree is called pepper, in fact this spice has only some of its specific features:

• moderately hot, slightly lemony taste;
• the leaves have a refreshing mint-lime aroma that helps balance the strong smell and taste of fatty foods;
• briefly heating sansho in a dry container reveals its scent more strongly - it is a soft and soothing aroma;
• If you put it on your tongue, you can feel a slight tingling sensation.

Pepperwood is included in the seven-spice seasoning, which consists of hot red chilies, orange zest, two types of sesame seeds, poppy seeds and nori (seaweed) powder.

Pepper tree spice has a refreshing citrus aroma and a slightly pungent taste.

Nutritional value and calorie content

In 100 grams of product:

Chemical composition

Pepper tree contains amides, which give pungency. Their concentration increases when the spice is dried.

Beneficial features

The following beneficial and healing properties of sansho are distinguished:

• Japanese pharmacists have discovered the medicinal properties of the roots of the pepper tree, which have a stimulating effect on the digestive tract.
• Anesthetic bitter tinctures are prepared from the peels of ripe berries.
• Pepper tree increases appetite and generally has a beneficial effect on the body.
• Has antiseptic properties.

Sansho fruits and leaves have antiseptic properties and improve digestion.

In losing weight

More recently, Japanese scientists have determined the fat-burning properties of the spice in question. The substances it contains stimulate the brain and activate the internal organs. Therefore, it can be included in diets for weight loss and weight control.

If you include spices and pepper tree leaves in your diet, you can get rid of a few extra pounds

Harm

Pepper tree has no special contraindications. The exception is individual intolerance. The dosage should also be observed, as in large quantities it irritates the stomach and can cause numbness in the mouth for 10 minutes.

Oil

Essential oil is extracted from the fruits of the pepper tree, and specifically from their peel, up to 4%. It has a spicy, fresh lemon aroma and a slightly pungent taste, which is due to its terpene content.

EM has the following characteristics:

• tonic effect;
• increases energy;
• calms the nervous system.

Sansho essential oil has a good calming effect

Application

In cooking

• Pepper tree is used as a seasoning due to its pungent odor.
• Dried spice is ideal for meat, fish and seafood. It eliminates their strong odors, leaving all their taste.
• The spice is often added to grilled dishes. For example, yakitori, unagi kabayaki, etc.
• Young leaves are suitable for fish, soups, salads, or are used as their decoration.
• Pepper tree buds are used in cooking to balance the taste and aroma of Japanese dishes. They are especially good with seafood and vegetable soups.
• Fresh ripe sansho berries are used to make Niboshi Dashi broth based on kombu seaweed and dry sardines or tuna.

Leaves and fruits go well with fish dishes

The Japanese love to decorate salads with pepper tree leaves, especially with seafood.

Stewed vegetables with the addition of sansho spice acquire a piquant taste

Delicious eel

You will need 400 gr. eel, which must be divided into 8 pieces and threaded onto two skewers. Boil the “eel structures” for a couple of minutes and fry over low heat (about six minutes, turning constantly).

In a small bowl, prepare a mixture of sugar, soy sauce and vodka, 3 tablespoons each. Heat the resulting mass for 4 minutes. Dip the eel in the prepared gravy and fry for another ten minutes until golden brown, sprinkling with the rest of the mixture.

Remove the skewers and sprinkle the eel with one teaspoon of peppercorns. Can be served with rice, vegetables, salads.

Green onion seasoning

Place a bunch of finely chopped onions in a bowl of water for 10 minutes. Then drain the water, add a teaspoon of sansho pepper, a pinch of salt and one tablespoon of sesame oil. A small, tasty side dish is ready! Can be stored in the refrigerator for a long time. Used as an additive to main dishes, for meat, fish, sauces and marinades.

Of course, you can adjust the amount of ingredients in the dish to your liking.

Varieties

Sansho Asakura (thornless pepper variety) is one of the widely cultivated varieties of sansho. It is grown more for commercial purposes. Harvesting begins around September-October, when the berries turn red and the seeds are exposed.

The Sansho Asakura variety is grown in Japan; it is good because it does not have thorns

Growing

Pepper tree is a universal spice; many Japanese cultivate it in their gardens. It is true that it is quite difficult to grow, and this is not surprising, because caring for a pepper tree takes a lot of time. This is a very sensitive plant and needs the right balance of sunlight, shade and moisture.

It will be better if you purchase it in the form of a young seedling. You need to immediately determine the permanent place where the pepper will grow, and after replanting it once, do not touch it again. Caution is required here; the slightest damage to the roots is very detrimental to the entire plant.

If you want your tree to bear fruit, you need to keep in mind that two plants are planted at the same time - a female and a male. There are also unisex varieties that do not require cross-pollination.

You can get sansho fruits only by growing a couple of trees, but there are also self-pollinating varieties

Care

Sansho prefers places with well-moistened, slightly oxidized soil. Constantly maintaining the level of moisture will help avoid pepper diseases, but stagnation of water is also harmful to it.

The plant lives and bears fruit for 20 years. Properly grown sansho from seeds produces the first berries in the second year. In the summer, you can harvest green fruits, and ripe ones in early September.

In autumn and sometimes in summer, leaves may turn yellow, but do not worry, this is just a natural process.

It is worth noting that aphids, butterflies and caterpillars are a danger to peppers. These insects can eat both leaves and berries.

With proper care of the pepper tree, you will be provided with useful spices for 20 years

At home

The pepper tree as a bonsai is becoming increasingly popular. This is a beautiful house plant, with impeccably proportioned leaves.

Pepper tree bonsai will decorate any home

At home, places near windows are chosen for growing, since the plant loves light. But the pepper tree does not tolerate direct sunlight.

The soil should be humus with good drainage. During the period of intensive growth, they begin to feed - in late spring and mid-autumn.

The pepper tree requires constant care

Care

• In summer, take it out into the fresh air in partial shade.
• Watering is moderate when the top layer of soil dries. There should be no stagnation of moisture.
• Feed during the period of rapid growth from spring to autumn.
• The plant needs to be replanted in the spring every 2 years, old ones - 3-4 years. In this case, the roots are trimmed to a third of their length.
• In winter, branches are shortened and removed to form the desired shape. They are treated with a special balm.

Pepper tree bonsai loves well-moistened soil, but watering should be such that the moisture does not stagnate in the pot

Shaping the trunk

Winter is the best time to trim and remove unnecessary branches. You can use wire to direct branches in the desired direction for six months. It should not be wound tightly so as not to damage the bark. But before this, it is advisable not to water the plant, then the branches will be more flexible.

Pepper tree
The pepper tree is a native of the West Indies, belonging to the world family. Sometimes called Jamaican pepper, which confuses all ideas: in fact, peppers are members of the nightshade family. The so-called black pepper is a dried green fruit (berry) of a tropical species. When dried in the sun, they lose 2/3 in volume and become dark brown. The trees begin to bear fruit in the seventh year of life and continue to bear fruit for about 50 years. After the fruits have reached their full weight, the natives climb onto the branches and shake the berries down, and then they are scattered in a thin layer in the sun to dry.
Ground berries, which have a sweet smell, are used as a spice in the form of powder, sachets and peas. In Russia it grows only in greenhouses and only when a specific set of conditions is created.
The temperature of young plants should be 12-14°. In summer, it is better to bring this plant into a greenhouse. After entwining a clod of earth with roots, they must be transferred into 9-centimeter pots. At the end of the summer period, the plant must be taken out of the greenhouse into a cold greenhouse, and kept there throughout the entire autumn-winter period (temperature 6°, but not higher than 8°)
For propagation by cuttings, cuttings must be carried out in the spring, in a propagation box, at a soil temperature of 20°. In the future, they need to be cared for in the same way as seedlings.
In the spring, young plants need to be transferred into 9-11 cm pots.

BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Homeland: southeast Asia (China, Korea, Japan).
In nature, it is an evergreen shrub up to 2 m high. The leaves are odd-pinnate, dark green in color with a dense, shiny surface. You can often see hard thorns on the trunk and branches. The plant has small yellow fruits.
As a bonsai, Zanthoxylum piperitum is still relatively unknown in our country, but is becoming increasingly popular due to the fact that it is easy to maintain at home, beauty, impeccable proportionality of leaves, elegant appearance of the plant and low susceptibility to disease.

Peruvian pepper tree (Schinus molle L.)
Originally from America, it grows in southern Europe and northern Africa. Its fruits are aromatic and have a sweet, spicy and pungent elemi peppery smell. In Greece, these fruits are used to flavor drinks instead of real pepper. Essential oil is obtained from the fruit by steam distillation with a yield of 5-7%. Some batches of oil smell like water fennel, others smell like elemi and pepper. Contains:
α-pinene 0.5%
α-phellandrene 40-60%
β-phellandrene
The leaves of the pepper tree can also be used to obtain an oil rich in β-phellandrene (26%) and carvacrol. Often the oil is distilled from the entire plant (fruits and leaves). The resulting oil, when exposed to light in the presence of air, oxidizes and polymerizes into a sticky mass.
Both types of oil are used for spicy flavoring.

When cold weather sets in, the sun shines less and less often, the colors of nature fade and nature becomes despondent, so you want to create a bright and colorful corner at home. In this case, gardeners grow decorative peppers indoors. Strewn with colorful fruits a bush in a pot on the windowsill, against the backdrop of a gloomy landscape outside the window, will perfectly cheer up its owners. This plant is often called Mexican pepper or annual paprika.

What is decorative pepper and can you eat it?

Decorative indoor pepper has a botanical name - capsicum. This is a shrub of the Solanaceae family native to the subtropics of Central America. Peppers are grown as ornamental or vegetable crops. Capsicum should not be confused with black pepper, as the latter belongs to the pepper family. Varieties of indoor pepper are divided into bitter and sweet.

Indoor culture is a compact, branched plant with a height of twenty to forty centimeters, with an abundance of dense foliage and fruits. These peppers are grown at home in pots. In summer, it is recommended to take the plant out onto the balcony, or, if possible, plant it in open ground. Before the temperature drops The pepper should be replanted in the pot.

Is it possible to eat this pepper? Capsicum fruits are false fruits, empty seed pods that can be used in food as a spice. Since box is translated in Latin as “capsa”, this is where the name - Capsicum - comes from. Depending on the plant variety, the shape of the fruit, color and size may vary. However, some ornamental varieties may have fruits that are unsuitable for consumption. The roots of the plant, greens and tops are poisonous.

Popular ornamental varieties

How to grow ornamental peppers at home

Subject to certain rules decorative indoor pepper in a pot can bear fruit for three to four years.

Selection of planting material

In order to subsequently grow a beautiful and healthy indoor pepper bush in a pot, you need to choose the right planting material. The best method of propagation is by seed. But in order to grow a bush from seeds, you should follow some rules:

Varieties are divided according to the timing of fruit ripening:

• early ripeness - the fruits ripen seventy to ninety-five days after planting in the pot;
• medium ripeness - fruit ripening occurs after one hundred and ten days;
• late ripeness - after one hundred and thirty days the fruits finally ripen.

Rules for planting seeds

One pot will be enough for planting. Planting includes several stages:

After the seeds sprout, they must be regularly inspected and moistened as they dry, but avoid overmoistening, as this can lead to rotting and death of the sprouts. Every day it is necessary to lift the film and ventilate the germinated seeds, every day the ventilation time should be increased, and after strong sprouts appear, the film is completely removed and the plants are given the opportunity to adapt to normal growing conditions.

As soon as two leaves appear on the sprout, the pepper is planted in a permanent place. You need to use one pot for one pepper. For decorative pepper Mass plantings are not used.

Stimulating flowering and fruiting

To stimulate the pepper bush For the appearance of inflorescences and fruits, the following conditions must be observed:

• the container with the plant must be shaken periodically in order to further increase the number of ovaries;
• provide the plant with access to sunlight;
• systematically water the plants.

You should know that the first inflorescences on the peppers are falling off, then new ones grow, which later bear fruit.

Reproduction

Peppers are often grown from seeds, but propagation is also possible by cuttings.

To grow indoor pepper from seeds, you should purchase planting material, prepare the pot and soil, sow the seeds, wait for germination and provide the sprouts with the necessary care. It is necessary to plant the plant in a permanent place at the end of winter.

Peppers should be propagated by cuttings in the spring and summer. To do this, you need to cut off the lateral shoots and place them in a container with a mixture of earth and sand. Water the soil regularly as it dries. The container must have a good drainage layer so that moisture does not linger for a long time. Replant the cutting, which has taken root does not follow. In order for the rooting process of the cutting to take place as quickly as possible, it should be pinched.

If the correct conditions are provided, caring for the plant will not be difficult.

Humidity and temperature

Capsicum is classified as a heat-loving plant. It grows and develops well in spring and summer at an air temperature of about twenty-five degrees. In winter, the temperature should be reduced to fifteen to eighteen degrees. The plant also tolerates changes in day and night temperatures well, so in summer it is better to take it out onto the balcony or into the garden.

Air humidity should be moderate.

Lighting

When caring for indoor peppers, you need to monitor the lighting. To ensure good growth, development and harvest, the bush should be placed on a south, west or south-west window. Pepper loves light; in the autumn-spring period it needs three to four hours of direct sunlight. But no more than four hours, otherwise burns may occur on the leaves and fruits. In summer, it is better to shade the plant, since during this period the sun is especially active.

If there is little light in the room, then it is necessary to provide artificial lighting. Because with a lack of light, the bush thins out, there are few leaves on it, and the harvest will be small.

The soil

For cultivation, use light neutral soil. The substrate can be purchased in specialized stores or prepared independently. To do this, you need to mix turf soil, leaf humus and sand.

Watering

In spring and summer, the plant needs abundant watering as the earthen clod dries out. In this case, the pepper must be regularly bathed by spraying it once or twice a week, and on particularly hot days - every other day. Water the bushes with water at room temperature.

Peppers that grow on the windowsill near the radiator need more frequent watering. In the autumn, watering must be reduced, and in winter completely reduced to a minimum. Indoor pepper does not tolerate drying out the soil, because of this its leaves become limp, the fruits fall off and the plant may die.

Fertilizer

Ornamental peppers, like other plants, need regular fertilization. If the lower part of the foliage turns purple, it means the plant needs phosphorus fertilizers. If the leaves have lightened, they should be fertilized with nitrogen. Root fertilizers are applied along with watering every two weeks.

Trimming

Pepper bushes need pruning; this will ensure a good harvest, a beautiful crown and enhance its growth. After the first harvest, pinch off the tops of all branches of the plant. As soon as lateral shoots form and are knocked out, they must be cut off.

Sometimes you should cut each branch in half.

Transfer

Peppers are difficult to transplant, but it should be done every year. Therefore, this process should be treated with caution, transferring the plant into a pot and adding new soil.

The main purpose of replanting is new soil. If it is possible to partially replace the soil without replanting, then this should be done in such a way as not to further injure the plant.

Diseases and pests

The most popular pests and diseases of pepper are:

• spider mite
• mealybug
• downy mildew
• blackleg
• late blight
• root rot
• dropping leaves
• shrinking, blanching of foliage

What are the benefits of decorative peppers?

The beautiful and healthy fruits of the plant can be used to prepare hot seasonings, various sauces, homemade pickles and marinades. This option is quite economical from a financial point of view, since one peppercorn is enough for one dish.

Decorative pepper is often used as a spice, especially in Georgian dishes.

Eating one pod of pepper every day can increase your appetite and provide the body with a general strengthening effect. Excellent for hypertensive patients, as it brings blood pressure back to normal. Those who want to lose weight will also benefit from this type of pepper, as it speeds up metabolic processes and burns extra pounds.

Using pepper infusions You can cure radiculitis, neuralgia, digestive system disorders and many other diseases. The rubbing tincture should be used with caution so as not to cause a burn to the skin.

But under no circumstances should you overuse pepper. It should not be used by those who have problems with the liver, pancreas and gall bladder.

Growing peppers indoors is a simple, interesting and exciting process, since it does not require special tools or conditions. By giving a bright bush care and attention, you can subsequently get a beautiful plant with a tasty and healthy harvest. If comfortable conditions are created, the plant will bear fruit for five years.

This year the bonsai got sick. There is carmona, olive, elm, podocarpus, but the fifth plant is still unnamed. Please tell me what it is called and how to care for it. Tatiana.

Your plant is most likely to have small spines on the trunk at the base of the leaf petiole. All indoor Zanthoxylums (pepper, American and fagara) are known under the names - Japanese pepper or Sichuan pepper, hua zhao. Therefore, Zantoxylum fagara is often unknowingly called Zantoxylum pepper, which has a slightly different leaf shape. The leaves are light green, rather thin, pointed at the end with a rounded-toothed edge.

Care. Zanthoxylum fagara grows well in good light and loves warmth. It reacts well to direct sunlight, but only if the temperature is low, within 20-22 degrees. In summer, it is advisable to shade at noon.

The plant is native to tropical forests. Therefore, it is regularly sprayed in summer and winter, and washed under a hot shower once a week.

The soil should not be allowed to dry out at the slightest level. Also, do not allow excess moisture, which can cause the roots to rot. Water for irrigation should be soft.

In summer, the plant can be taken outside to a windless place. in winter temperature should not be lower than 14-16 degrees.

In spring and summer, feed weekly with liquid fertilizers mi for indoor plants.

Replant in April, after 2-3 years, using ready-made bonsai mixture. Can be made from acadama, humus and leaf soil (or soil for citrus fruits), with the addition of perlite, sand and fine gravel. When replanting, the roots are cut to 1/3 of the length and the crown is thinned.

In dry air, leaves can be affected by aphids and spider mite ohm With heavy watering it develops root rot. Overwatering and lack of lighting lead to leaf fall.

Bonsai formation.

Pruning is best done in winter. Remove and shorten branches that interfere with the formation of a certain style, growing vertically or inside the crown and crossed. The branches are guided using wire in the spring. It is not wound tightly so as not to damage the bark, and left for 4-5 months. Do not water the plant for 2-3 days before wrapping it with wire, then the branches will be more flexible.

By the way, zanthoxylum blooms in summer. The flowers are small, yellow, collected in racemose axillary inflorescences. The fruits are fleshy, about 1 cm in diameter, with large black seeds. When the fruit is crushed, a citrus aroma comes out.

Zanthoxylum is very similar in appearance to Operculicaria decarie, called false pepper tree. It has thicker and glossier leaves and no spines. Operculicaria is used more often for bonsai than zanthoxylum. It is more cold-resistant (in winter it can withstand temperatures up to +8 degrees) and, thanks to the protective wax coating on the leaves, is not afraid of direct sunlight. Operculicaria are also cared for.

For Russian expanses with cold winters, the exotic Schinus is suitable only as a houseplant, which grows more like a vine than a tree. In its homeland, its fruits are used instead of pepper, resin is extracted, its dense, high-quality wood is used and simply enjoyed as an ornamental plant.

The planet Mars

By the way, on the night of August 26-27 of this year (2015), the planet Mars is going to approach the Earth so close that it will create the illusion of the presence of an additional Moon in the sky. If the sky is not covered with dense clouds this night, it will be possible to become an observer of a rare celestial phenomenon, which next time only our great-great-great-grandchildren or great-great-great-great-grandchildren will see, since a repetition of such an event will happen in 2287 year.

Rod Schinus

Yellowish-white small flowers are strictly divided into male and female, blooming on the branches in June-July. The reddish fruits are a fleshy drupe with a lignified, burning seed. The seeds can cause irritation to the mucous membrane of the digestive organs, so their use as a spice replacing pepper should be treated with caution. Italians call the fruits of schinus “false pepper.”

Varieties

The branches of the umbrella-shaped crown are covered with dark green leaves. From the inconspicuous yellowish-white flowers, like a swan from an ugly duckling, beautiful, though not white, like a swan, appear, but bright red fruits hanging on the tree in dense clusters.

Growing

Although plants are not partial to soil, fertile, organic-rich soil with good drainage will be more favorable.

To form the shape of the plant, they periodically resort to pruning shoots.

The immune system of the schinus does an excellent job of protecting the plant from diseases and pests.

Reproduction