Piper auritum

{{Speciesbox

|image =Starr_021122-0002_Piper_auritum.jpg

|genus = Piper

|species = auritum

|authority = Kunth

|synonyms = Piper sanctum{{cite web | title = Sorting Piper names | url = http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Piper.html | first = Prof. Snow | last = Barlow | publisher = University of Melbourne | year = 2003 | access-date = 2007-03-29 }}

|}}

Piper auritum is an aromatic culinary herb in the pepper family Piperaceae, which grows and is endemic to tropical Central America. Common names include {{Lang|es|hoja santa}} ({{Langnf|es||sacred leaf}}), {{Lang|es|yerba santa}},{{cite book | title = Coyote's Pantry: Southwest Seasonings and at Home Flavoring Techniques | first = Mark Charles | last = Miller | publisher = Ten Speed Press | year = 1993 | isbn = 0-89815-494-4 | page = [https://archive.org/details/coyotespantrysou0000mill/page/70 70] | url = https://archive.org/details/coyotespantrysou0000mill/page/70 }} {{Lang|es|hierba santa}}, Mexican pepperleaf, acuyo, tlanepa, anisillo, root beer plant, Vera Cruz pepper{{PLANTS|id=PIAU|taxon=Piper auritum|access-date=6 October 2015}} and sacred pepper.

Description

It is a perennial herbaceous plant up to nineteen feet (six meters) in height with heart-shaped velvety leaves.

The leaves can reach up to {{convert|30|cm|sp=us}} or more in size. The flowers are in simple white spikes containing myriads of tiny florets which rise above the foliage like candles.{{cite book |last=Zuchowski |first=Willow |title=Tropical Plants of Costa Rica |date=2007 |publisher=Cornell Univ. Press |isbn=978-0801445880 |location=Ithaca, N.Y. |pages=64-65}} The entire plant is said to have the fragrance of Sassafras. The complex flavor is not so easily described; it has been compared to eucalyptus,{{cite news | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8352-2004Aug17.html | title = Ingredient - Hoja Santa | date = 2004-08-18 | access-date = 2007-03-29 | work = The Washington Post }}{{cite book| title = New Tastes from Texas | first = Stephan | last = Pyles | publisher = Three Rivers Press | isbn = 0-609-80497-9 | year = 1999 | page = 214 }} licorice,{{cite book | last= Rolland |first= Jacques L. | title= The Food Encyclopedia: Over 8,000 Ingredients, Tools, Techniques and People | publisher=Robert Rose | year=2006 | isbn= 0-7788-0150-0 | page= 326}}{{cite book | title = Steven Raichlen's Healthy Latin Cooking: 200 Sizzling Recipes from Mexico, Cuba, Caribbean, Brazil, and Beyond | first = Steven | last = Raichlen | author-link = Steven Raichlen | publisher = Rodale Books | year = 2000 | isbn = 0-87596-498-2 | page = [https://archive.org/details/stevenraichlensh0000raic/page/26 26] | url = https://archive.org/details/stevenraichlensh0000raic/page/26 }} sassafras,{{cite book | title = The Cheese Lover's Cookbook and Guide: Over 150 Recipes with Instructions on How to Buy, Store, and Serve All Your Favorite Cheeses | url = https://archive.org/details/cheeseloverscook0000lamb | url-access = registration | first = Paula | last = Lambert |author-link = Paula Lambert | publisher = Simon & Schuster | isbn = 0-684-86318-9 | year = 2000 | page = [https://archive.org/details/cheeseloverscook0000lamb/page/43 43]}} anise,{{cite book | author=Davidson, Alan | title=The Oxford Companion to Food | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=1999 | isbn=0-19-211579-0 | page=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00davi_0/page/383 383] | author-link=Alan Davidson (food writer) }} nutmeg, mint,{{cite web | url = http://www.orlandoweekly.com/util/printready.asp?id=11021 | title = Craft, not Kraft, is the key to these homeland treats | first = Adrian J.S. | last = Hale | access-date = 2007-03-29 | publisher = Orlando Weekly | date = 2006-09-28 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061114055121/http://www.orlandoweekly.com/util/printready.asp?id=11021 | archive-date = 2006-11-14 }}{{cite book | title = Contemporary Southwest: The Cafe Terra Cotta Cookbook | first = Donna | last = Nordin | publisher = Ten Speed Press | isbn = 1-58008-180-0 | year = 2001 | page = 19}} tarragon, and black pepper.{{cite web | url = http://gernot-katzers-spice-pages.com/engl/Pipe_aur.html | first = Gernot |last = Katzer| title = Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages - Mexican Pepperleaf (Piper auritum Kunth) | year = 2012 | access-date = 2012-12-03}} The flavor is stronger in the young stems and veins.

It is native to the Americas, from northern South America to Mexico, and is also cultivated in California and southeast Florida.

Use

It is often used in Mexican cuisine in tamales, fish or meat wrapped in its fragrant leaves for cooking, and as an essential ingredient in mole verde, a green sauce originally from the Oaxaca region of Mexico. It is also used to flavor eggs and soups like pozole.{{cite book | title = The Edible Mexican Garden | first = Rosalind | last = Creasy | publisher = Tuttle Publishing | year = 2000| isbn = 962-593-297-6 | page = 35}} In Central Mexico, it is used to flavor chocolate drinks. In southeastern Mexico, a green liquor called verdín is made from hoja santa.{{cite web | url = http://www.restmex.com/recipes/0603.shtml | title = El Restaurante Mexicano (May/June 2006): Beyond margaritas | year = 2006 | publisher = Maiden Name Press LLC | first = Lori | last = Conner | access-date = 2007-04-01 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070420024249/http://www.restmex.com/recipes/0603.shtml | archive-date = 2007-04-20 | url-status = dead }}

While typically used fresh, it is also used dried, although the drying process removes much of the flavor and makes the leaf too brittle to be used as a wrapper.{{cite book | title = Latin & Caribbean Grocery Stores Demystified | first = Linda | last = Bladholm | publisher = Renaissance Books | isbn = 1-58063-212-2 | year = 2001 | page = [https://archive.org/details/latincaribbeangr00lind/page/106 106] | url = https://archive.org/details/latincaribbeangr00lind/page/106 }}

Chemistry / constituents

The leaf oil of Piper auritum contains a relatively high concentration of hepatotoxic safrole, around 70%. A few of the other 40 constituents occurring in minor quantities were α-thujene, α-pinene, camphene, β-pinene, myrcene, and limonene.{{cite journal |last1=Gupta |first1=Mahabir P. |last2=Arias |first2=Tomás D. |last3=Williams |first3=Norris H. |last4=Bos |first4=R. |last5=Tattje |first5=D. H. E. |title=Safrole, the Main Component of the Essential Oil from Piper auritum of Panama |journal=Journal of Natural Products |date=March 1985 |volume=48 |issue=2 |pages=330–330 |doi=10.1021/np50038a026}}