Piper kelleyi

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Piper kelleyi
Piper kelleyi.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Magnoliids
Order: Piperales
Family: Piperaceae
Genus: Piper
Species:
P. kelleyi
Binomial name
Piper kelleyi
Tepe et al. (2014)

Piper kelleyi is a wild relative of black pepper that grows in Ecuador and Peru. The species is named in honor of American botanist Walter Almond Kelley [1] and is a member of the Macrostachys clade of the pepper genus. [2] Piper kelleyi features long, white, pendulous inflorescences and large leaves. It is mostly restricted to montane elevations and produces secondary compounds that deter most herbivores. The most important secondary compounds discovered from P. kelleyi are a prenylated benzoic acid and 2 chromanes that are unique to this species. [3]

Piper kelleyi was scientifically described on February 7, 2014 in the journal PhytoKeys . [2] The pinkish undersides of the leaves gave this species the nickname "pink belly" in the research team. [4] Several insect species are entirely dependent on Piper kelleyi for survival, including many specialized caterpillars in the genus Eois (Geometridae).

Related Research Articles

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Benzoic acid is a white solid organic compound with the formula C6H5COOH, whose structure consists of a benzene ring with a carboxyl substituent. It is the simplest aromatic carboxylic acid. The name is derived from gum benzoin, which was for a long time its only source.

<i>Piper</i> (plant) Genus of plants

Piper, the pepper plants or pepper vines, is an economically and ecologically important genus in the family Piperaceae.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black pepper</span> Ground fruit of the family Piperaceae

Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about 5 mm (0.20 in) in diameter, dark red, and contains a stone which encloses a single pepper seed. Peppercorns and the ground pepper derived from them may be described simply as pepper, or more precisely as black pepper, green pepper, or white pepper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piperaceae</span> Family of flowering plants in the order Piperales

The Piperaceae, also known as the pepper family, are a large family of flowering plants. The group contains roughly 3,600 currently accepted species in 5 genera. The vast majority of species can be found within the two main genera: Piper and Peperomia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sodium benzoate</span> Chemical compound

Sodium benzoate is the sodium salt of benzoic acid, widely used as a food preservative (with an E number of E211) and a pickling agent. It appears as a white crystalline chemical with the formula C6H5COONa.

<i>Capsicum pubescens</i> Species of plant

Capsicum pubescens is a plant of the genus Capsicum (pepper). The species name, pubescens, refers to the hairy leaves of this pepper. The hairiness of the leaves, along with the black seeds, make Capsicum pubescens distinguishable from other Capsicum species. Capsicum pubescens has pungent yellow, orange, red, green or brown fruits.

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<i>Styrax</i> Genus of plants

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<i>Trichoderma</i> Genus of fungi

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phenolic acid</span>

Phenolic acids or phenolcarboxylic acids are types of aromatic acid compounds. Included in that class are substances containing a phenolic ring and an organic carboxylic acid function. Two important naturally occurring types of phenolic acids are hydroxybenzoic acids and hydroxycinnamic acids, which are derived from non-phenolic molecules of benzoic and cinnamic acid, respectively.

PhytoKeys is a peer-reviewed, open-access online and print botanical journal. Its stated goal is "to support free exchange of ideas and information in systematic botany".

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<i>Capsicum rhomboideum</i> Species of flowering plant

Capsicum rhomboideum is a perennial member of the genus Capsicum with 2n=2x=26, and is considered a distant wild relative of the chili pepper. Its fruit do not have any pungency, and are a 0 on the Scoville Heat Unit scale. It gets its name from the rhomboidal to elliptical shape of its leaves. It is native to Mexico, Central America, and Andean region of South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cannabidiolic acid</span> Chemical compound

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References

  1. Walter Kelley Obituary, CO — The Daily Sentinel
  2. 1 2 Eric Tepe; Genoveva Rodríguez-Castañeda; Andrea Glassmire; Lee Dyer (7 Feb 2014). "Piper kelleyi, a hotspot of ecological interactions and a new species from Ecuador and Peru". PhytoKeys (34): 19–32. doi:10.3897/phytokeys.34.6376. PMC   3941067 . PMID   24596490 . Retrieved 12 Feb 2014.
  3. Jeffrey Christopher S (2014). "Antiherbivore Prenylated Benzoic Acid Derivatives from Piper kelleyi". Journal of Natural Products. 77 (1): 148–153. doi:10.1021/np400886s. PMID   24422717.
  4. "Piper kelleyi (2 of 3)". EurekAlert!. Retrieved 12 Feb 2014.