Black pepper
Pepper plant with immature peppercorns
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Piperales
Family:	Piperaceae
Genus:	Piper
Species:	P. nigrum
Binomial name
Piper nigrum L.

Black pepper is a plant that grows in the tropics, especially in India. The plant is a perennial vine that bears flowers. People cultivate the plant for its fruit, the peppercorn. The peppercorn can be used as a spice or condiment. Usually, it makes things hot.

There are several different plants called Pepper, all are in the Piper genus of Piperaceae.

From the 16th century onwards, people used the word pepper to also refer to the Chili peppers, which come from a completely unrelated plant. It was also called black gold in older times.