Pepper; Black Pepper; Pepper Leaves

The pepper (Piper) family includes the vine that produces peppercorns (that are processed into black and white peppercorns), as well as the vine (Piper betle) whose leaves are used to wrap areca nut and lime to make “betel nut chew” and the pepper vine Piper sarmentosum. The latter is the source of the shiny dark green tender pepper leaves that are used in Burma, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam as raw or cooked greens as well as wrappers for savory snacks (miang in Shan and Thai). In Vietnam the leaves are called la lot; they’re used most famously to wrap ground beef that is grilled as one of the Bo Bay Mon (beef seven ways) dishes. Sometimes pepper leaves are available in Southeast Asian groceries. See also Sichuan pepper.