Black pepper is the spice or pungent condiment which is secured by grinding the dried berry or fruit of a climbing perennial vine plant called Piper nigrum. The plant belongs to the Piperaceae family of tropical plants of which there are 9 genera and more than 1000 species. The fruit, or whole berry with its rough outer surface, is used to produce the black pepper. The woody vine is native to the East Indies [Indonesia] and is widely cultivated in East India [Bangladesh], French Indo-China [Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam], Siam or Thailand, and India. The beautiful leaves are ovate-acuminate and the minute flowers which grow in the form of a narrow spike are succeeded by brilliant red berries. These dried berries are the peppercorns. The dried, tiny, wrinkled little globes of the black pepper range in color from a dark brown to black, depending upon the harvesting processes. They are never more than 1/4 inch in diameter and it takes more than 500 whole peppercorns to weigh an ounce. The flavor is a pungent, biting one and the aroma extremely aromatic. Pepper is just as important in its universal use as is salt. The peppercorns are always an ingredient in prepared pickling spices; and many of the prepared spice blends for commercial uses include pepper as one of the chief seasonings. Practically all our foods except desserts are flavored with pepper. Appetizers, with just a dash of the biting little grains; or meats and sauces with as much as half a teaspoon of pepper are all improved and made more appetizing by this most ancient of seasonings. It, too, needs careful handling and sometimes just 3 or 4 peppercorns added to a soup or a gravy will improve the flavor immeasurably and give an entire meal a completely new appeal.

Source: Miloradovich, Milo (1950). Cooking with Herbs and Spices. New York: Dover; pp. 246-248.