If you’ve ever seen a bright, bushy tree covered in little red berries around the holidays, there’s a good chance it was the Brazilian peppertree — also known as aroeira, rose pepper, Florida holly, or even Christmasberry tree. It looks beautiful and smells aromatic, but don’t let that fool you — this plant has quite a story.
Native to South America, the Brazilian peppertree can grow as a sprawling shrub or small tree up to 10 meters tall. It’s a tough plant that adapts to just about anywhere — from sandy dunes to soggy swamps. It’s dioecious, meaning male and female flowers grow on separate trees, and those tiny white blossoms turn into clusters of bright red berries that birds can’t resist.
People have used this tree for centuries. In traditional medicine across South and Central America, almost every part of it — the leaves, bark, fruit, and resin — has been used to treat everything from wounds and infections to colds, depression, and menstrual pain. In some places, the sap and tea made from the bark are still common home remedies today.
But this pretty plant also has a dark side. Outside its native range, the Brazilian peppertree has become an invasive species, especially in parts of the southern United States like Florida, Texas, and Hawaii. It spreads fast, grows back even after being cut down, and outcompetes local plants. To make things worse, its sap can cause itchy skin rashes and swelling in some people — similar to poison ivy.
如果你曾在節慶期間見過一棵枝繁葉茂、掛滿紅色小漿果的樹，那它很可能就是巴西胡椒樹——也叫阿羅埃拉樹、玫瑰胡椒樹、佛羅裡達冬青樹，甚至聖誕莓樹。它外形美麗，香氣撲鼻，但別被它的外表所迷惑──這種植物背後有著一段不為人知的故事。
原產於南美洲的巴西胡椒樹可長成蔓生灌木或小喬木，最高可達 10 公尺。它生命力頑強，幾乎能適應任何環境——從沙丘到沼澤都能生長。它是雌雄異株植物，雄花和雌花分別生長在不同的樹上，那些細小的白色花朵會結成簇簇鮮紅的漿果，令鳥兒無法抗拒。
人們使用這種樹已有數百年歷史。在南美洲和中美洲的傳統醫學中，幾乎它的每個部分——葉子、樹皮、果實和樹脂——都被用來治療各種疾病，從傷口和感染到感冒、憂鬱症和經痛。在某些地方，樹液和樹皮製成的茶至今仍是常見的家庭療法。
但這種美麗的植物也有其陰暗面。在原產地以外，巴西胡椒樹已成為一種入侵物種，尤其是在美國南部的一些地區，例如佛羅裡達州、德克薩斯州和夏威夷州。它蔓延迅速，即使被砍伐也能重新生長，並排擠當地植物。更糟的是，它的汁液會導致一些人出現皮膚搔癢、皮疹和腫脹——類似於毒葛引起的症狀。
Notes 筆記
- Common names include Brazilian peppertree, aroeira, rose pepper, broadleaved pepper tree, wilelaiki (or wililaiki), Christmasberry tree, and Florida holly.
- The Brazilian peppertree is a sprawling shrub or small tree with a shallow root system, reaching a height of 7–10 m. Its plastic morphology allows it to thrive in various ecosystems—from dunes to swamps—where it can even grow as a semi-aquatic plant.
- The plant is dioecious, with small white flowers borne profusely in axillary clusters. The fruit is a drupe, 4–5 mm in diameter, carried in dense clusters of hundreds.
- Brazilian pepper is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in frost-free regions of South America for its foliage and fruit. It is considered a melliferous plant and serves as the main source of food for bees that produce an important type of honey.
- Although it is not a true pepper, its dried drupes are often sold as pink peppercorns. The seeds can be used as a spice, adding a pepper-like flavor to food. They are typically sold in a dried state and have a bright pink color.
- In the United States, it has been introduced to California, Texas, Hawaii, Arizona, Nevada, Louisiana, and Florida. Originally planted as an ornamental outside its native range, the Brazilian pepper has become widespread and is considered an invasive species in many subtropical regions with moderate to high rainfall.
- Brazilian pepper is difficult to control because it produces basal shoots if the trunk is cut. Trees also produce abundant seeds that are dispersed by birds and ants. This same hardiness makes the tree valuable for reforestation in its native environment but enables it to become invasive outside its natural range. The species, including its seeds, is legally prohibited from sale, transport, or planting in some states.
- Brazilian pepper has an aromatic sap that can cause skin reactions in sensitive individuals. Contact with the sap from a cut or bruised tree can result in rashes, lesions, oozing sores, severe itching, welts, and redness and swelling (especially around the eyes).
- The peppertree is the subject of extensive folk medicinal lore in regions where it is indigenous. Virtually all parts of this tropical tree—including its leaves, bark, fruit, seeds, resin, and oleoresin (or balsam)—have been used medicinally by indigenous peoples throughout the tropics. The plant has a long history of use and appears in ancient religious artifacts and on idols among some of the ancient Chilean Amerindian cultures.
- Throughout South and Central America, the Brazilian peppertree is reported to have astringent, antibacterial, diuretic, digestive stimulant, tonic, antiviral, and wound-healing properties. In Peru, the sap is used as a mild laxative and diuretic, while the entire plant is applied externally for fractures and as a topical antiseptic. The oleoresin is used externally as a wound healer, to stop bleeding, and for toothaches, and it is taken internally for rheumatism and as a purgative. In South Africa, a leaf tea is used to treat colds, and a leaf decoction is inhaled for colds, hypertension, depression, and irregular heartbeat. In the Brazilian Amazon, a bark tea is used as a laxative, and a bark-and-leaf tea is taken as a stimulant and antidepressant. In Argentina, a decoction made from dried leaves is used for menstrual disorders and for treating respiratory and urinary tract infections.
- The Brazilian peppertree continues to be employed in herbal medicine today in many countries. It is used to treat a wide range of conditions in tropical regions, including menstrual disorders, bronchitis, gingivitis, gonorrhea, gout, eye infections, rheumatism, sores, swellings, tuberculosis, ulcers, urethritis, urogenital disorders, venereal diseases, warts, and wounds.
- 俗名包括巴西胡椒樹、阿羅埃拉樹、玫瑰胡椒樹、闊葉胡椒樹、威萊萊基樹（或威萊萊基樹）、聖誕莓樹和佛羅裡達冬青樹。
- 巴西胡椒木是一種蔓生灌木或小喬木，根系較淺，高度可達 7-10 公尺。其適應性強的形態使其能夠在各種生態系統中茁壯成長——從沙丘到沼澤——甚至可以作為半水生植物生長。
- 它是雌雄異株，腋生簇生白色小花。果實為核果，直徑 4-5 公釐，數百個密集簇生。
- 巴西胡椒因其葉片和果實，在南美洲無霜地區被廣泛種植為觀賞植物。它也被認為是一種蜜源植物，是蜜蜂的主要食物來源，而蜜蜂也生產十分重的蜂蜜。
- 雖然它並非真正的胡椒，但其乾燥的核果常被當作粉紅胡椒粒出售。種子可用作香料，為食物增添類似胡椒的風味。它們通常以乾燥狀態出售，並呈現亮粉紅色。
- 在美國，巴西胡椒已被引入加州、德州、夏威夷、亞利桑那州、內華達州、路易斯安那州和佛羅裡達州。最初，巴西胡椒在其原產地以外地區被作為觀賞植物種植，如今已廣泛傳播，並在許多中高降雨量的亞熱帶地區被視為入侵物種。
- 巴西胡椒樹難以控制，因為即使樹幹被砍伐，它也會萌發出基生新芽。這種樹木也會產生大量種子，並透過鳥類和螞蟻傳播。正是這種頑強的生命力，使得它在原產地具有造林價值，但也使其在自然分佈範圍之外成為入侵物種。在某些州，該物種及其種子均被法律禁止銷售、運輸或種植。
- 巴西胡椒樹的汁液芳香四溢，可能會引起敏感族群的皮膚反應。接觸到被割傷或碰傷的樹幹上的汁液會導致皮疹、損傷、滲液性潰瘍、劇烈搔癢、疙瘩以及紅腫（尤其是在眼睛周圍）。
- 胡椒樹在其原產地擁有豐富的民間藥用價值。這種熱帶樹木的幾乎所有部分——包括葉子、樹皮、果實、種子、樹脂和油樹脂（或香脂）——都被熱帶地區的土著居民用於藥用。胡椒樹有著悠久的使用歷史，在一些古代智利美洲原住民文化中，它出現在古代宗教器物和偶像上。
- 在整個南美洲和中美洲，巴西胡椒樹被認為具有止血、抗菌、利尿、促進消化、滋補、抗病毒和促進傷口癒合的功效。在秘魯，人們使用其樹液作為溫和的瀉藥和利尿劑，而整株植物則外用於治療骨折和作為局部消毒劑。其油樹脂外用於促進傷口癒合、止血和緩解牙痛，內服則用於治療風濕病和作為瀉藥。在南非，人們會用葉子泡茶來治療感冒，並用葉子煎劑吸入治療感冒、高血壓、憂鬱症和心律不整。在巴西亞馬遜地區，人們用樹皮泡茶來瀉藥，而樹皮和葉子混合泡茶則被用作興奮劑和抗憂鬱藥。在阿根廷，人們會用乾葉子熬製的湯劑來治療月經失調以及呼吸道和泌尿道感染。
- 巴西胡椒樹至今仍在許多國家的草藥中被使用。在熱帶地區，它被用於治療多種疾病，包括月經失調、支氣管炎、牙齦炎、淋病、痛風、眼部感染、風濕病、瘡、腫脹、肺結核、潰瘍、尿道炎、泌尿生殖系統疾病、性病、疣和傷口。
References 參考資料
- Wikipedia: Schinus terebinthifolia
Plants Posts 植物的帖子
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