After eating its unripe and ground-up fruits everyday for several decades, I've finally come face to face with the plant. It's a face that has literally launched a thousand ships. For example, Christopher Columbus was sent by the royal court to find a better route to get at this spice (and others), which was called black gold, and used as currency in Europe and beyond. Instead he landed in the Americas and colonized the "Indies", "Indians", and a different "Pepper" (Capsicum spp.) Black Pepper (Piper nigrum) was first cultivated at least four thousand years ago in Kerala, on the Malabar coast of Southern India. It has many medicinal uses in India and throughout Asia (including Ayurveda and Chinese medicine), and was used in mummifying rituals in Egypt. This plant was for sale by @wheelherbs at the #philadelphiaflowershow yesterday! #blackpepper #pepper #piper #pipernigrum #spicetrade #colonialism #malabarcoast #kerala #blackgold (at The Philadelphia Flower Show)