The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

cypress peperomia

wing peperomia

Habit Herbs, perennial, rhizomatous, erect, decumbent, or reclining, simple or branched, 8-45 cm, mostly glabrous, with numerous black, glandular dots. Herbs, perennial, rhizomatous, erect or reclining, simple or sparsely branched, 1-3 dm, glabrous, without black, glandular dots.
Leaves

blade 3-5-veined from base, ovate to narrowly or broadly elliptic, 2-6.5 × 1-4 cm, base nearly rounded to broadly cuneate, apex acute to short-acuminate;

surfaces mostly glabrous.

blade 3-5-veined from base, narrowly to broadly elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate or oblanceolate, 5-13 × 1.5-4 cm, base attentuate to acuminate, apex acute to short-acuminate;

surfaces glabrous.

Spikes

terminal or terminal and axillary, 1-4, densely flowered, 3-13 cm, mature fruiting spikes 2-3 mm diam.

terminal, 1-3, sometimes also with solitary spikes from proximal axils, densely flowered, 6-13 cm, mature fruiting spikes 2-3 mm diam.

Fruits

sessile, very broadly ovoid to globose, 0.7-0.8 × 0.6-0.7 mm, warty;

beak obliquely conic, 0.1-0.2 mm.

sessile, globose to very broadly ovoid, 0.5-0.8 × 0.6-0.8 mm, minutely warty;

beak minute, mammiform or conic, 2 sides flattened, 0.1-0.2 mm.

Peperomia glabella

Peperomia alata

Phenology Flowering all year. Flowering all year.
Habitat Epiphytic or terrestrial Swamps
Elevation 0-20 m (0-100 ft) 0-10 m (0-0 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
FL; West Indies; n South America
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
FL; Central America; South America; West Indies
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Peperomia alata is known from three collections (one not specified, the other two from Collier County, Florida). It is a common and widespread species of the West Indies, Central America, and South America. The characteristic wings on the stem are not so conspicuous as on many specimens from those regions.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 3. FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Piperaceae > Peperomia Piperaceae > Peperomia
Sibling taxa
P. alata, P. amplexicaulis, P. humilis, P. magnoliifolia, P. obtusifolia, P. pellucida
P. amplexicaulis, P. glabella, P. humilis, P. magnoliifolia, P. obtusifolia, P. pellucida
Synonyms Piper glabellum
Name authority (Swartz) A. Dietrich: Sp. Pl. 1: 156. (1831) Ruiz & Pavon: Fl. Peruv. 1: 31. (1798)
Web links