''Tasmannia stipitata'', commonly known as the Dorrigo pepper or northern pepperbush is a rainforest shrub of

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...

forests of the Northern Tablelands of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. Leaves are fragrant, narrow-lanceolate to narrow-elliptic, 8–13 cm long. Dark bluish to mauve berries follow the flowers on female shrubs. The species is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants.

Culinary use

The culinary quality of ''T. stipitata'' was recognized in the mid-1980s by horticulturist

Peter Hardwick Peter Hardwick (born 1958) is an Australian food horticulturist and environmentalist, recognized as an early pioneer of the Australian bushfood industry. He publicly challenged the established belief that native Australian food plants were not suit ...

, who gave it the name 'Dorrigo pepper', and Jean-Paul Bruneteau, then chef at Rowntrees Restaurant, Sydney. It is mainly wild harvested from the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales. Dorrigo pepper has a woody- cinnamon and peppery note in the leaves and the fruit/seed. The hot peppery flavor is derived from

polygodial Polygodial is chemical compound found in dorrigo pepper, mountain pepper, horopito, canelo, paracress, water-pepper, and '' Dendrodoris limbata''.M Jonassohn (1996)Sesquiterpenoid unsaturated dialdehydes - Structural properties that affect r ...

, an essential oil component, common to most species in the family.

Research

Research showed that ''T. stipitata'' has the potential to be used as an anti food spoilage and medicinal agent because of its low toxicity and moderate broad spectrum inhibitory activity against

bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometr ...

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

and Giardia.C. Harta, P. Ilankoa, J. Sirdaartaa,b, P. Rayana,b, P.A. McDonnella and I. E. Cocka
"''Tasmannia stipitata'' as a Functional Food/Natural Preservative: Antimicrobial Activity and Toxicity", ''Pharmacognosy Communications''
Volume 4, Issue 4, Oct–Dec 2014.

References

External links

''Tasmannia stipitata'' Occurrence data
from AVH Bushfood Flora of New South Wales Magnoliids of Australia stipitata Spices Dioecious plants {{Australia-plant-stub

Culinary use

Research

See also

References

Further reading

External links