Science Fair Project Encyclopedia There are several completely
different plants referred to by the name of pepper; all are used
in food for the "hot" sensation that particular chemical
components induce on the tongue. - Various plants in the family
Piperaceae, notably the genus Piper, including the black pepper
that appears on virtually every dining room table in parts of
the world. Different preparations of the same Piper nigrum plant
also produce "white" and "green" peppercorns. Also, the genus
Peperomia, which is included in the Peperomiaceae family by some
authors. - Plants in the genus Capsicum in the family
Solanaceae, including bell peppers and chile peppers. These
plants have given rise to the Scoville scale to measure the
"hotness" of a pepper. - Pink peppercorns , also called
"Peruvian pepper" or "Caribbean pepper," are from a plant
related to Cashews; species Schinus molle, in the family
Anacardiaceae. - Szechuan peppercorns are produced by a plant of
the family Rutaceae, species Zanthoxylum piperi