Tasmannia
Encyclopedia
Tasmannia is a genus
of woody, evergreen
flowering plant
s of the family Winteraceae
. There are 40 species of Tasmannia native to Australia
, New Guinea
, Celebes
, Borneo
, and Philippines
. The Winteraceae are magnoliids, and are associated with the humid Antarctic flora
of the southern hemisphere. The members of the family generally have aromatic bark and leaves, and some are used to extract essential oil
s. The peppery-flavored fruits and leaves (esp. dried) of this genus are increasingly used as a condiment in Australia. The peppery flavour can be attributed to a molecule named polygodial
.
.
The species of Tasmannia were formerly classified in genus Drimys
, a related group of Winteraceae native to the Neotropic
s. Recent studies have led to an increasing consensus among botanists to split the genus into two, with the Neotropical species remaining in genus Drimys, and the Australasian
species classified in genus Tasmannia.
and eastern Victoria
and New South Wales
to southeastern Queensland
, and in the mountains of northeastern Queensland, where it grows in moist mountain forests and in wet areas in the drier forest and along watercourses to an elevation of 1500 metres (5000 ft).
is the biggest limitation with using wild strains of mountain pepper, and safrole-free strains of mountain pepper have been selected for the spice trade.
Tasmannia stipitata, Dorrigo Pepper, is also sold as a spice and was the original pepperbush used in specialty native food restaurants in the 1980s. Dorrigo pepper is safrole free and has a strong peppery flavour.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of woody, evergreen
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s of the family Winteraceae
Winteraceae
The Winteraceae are a family of flowering plants. The family includes 120 species of trees and shrubs in 9 genera.The Winteraceae are a mostly southern-hemisphere family associated with the Antarctic flora, found in tropical to temperate climate regions of Malesia, Oceania, eastern Australia, New...
. There are 40 species of Tasmannia native to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, Celebes
Sulawesi
Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...
, Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
, and Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. The Winteraceae are magnoliids, and are associated with the humid Antarctic flora
Antarctic flora
The Antarctic flora is a distinct community of vascular plants which evolved millions of years ago on the supercontinent of Gondwana, and is now found on several separate areas of the Southern Hemisphere, including southern South America, southernmost Africa, New Zealand, Australia and New Caledonia...
of the southern hemisphere. The members of the family generally have aromatic bark and leaves, and some are used to extract essential oil
Essential oil
An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils or aetherolea, or simply as the "oil of" the plant from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove...
s. The peppery-flavored fruits and leaves (esp. dried) of this genus are increasingly used as a condiment in Australia. The peppery flavour can be attributed to a molecule named polygodial
Polygodial
Polygodial is an active constituent of Dorrigo Pepper, Mountain Pepper, Horopito, Canelo, Paracress and Water-pepper.Chemically it is a drimane-type sesquiterpene dialdehyde of formula C15H22O2.It elicits a warm and pungent flavour....
.
Taxonomy
The first description of the genus was published by Robert BrownRobert Brown (botanist)
Robert Brown was a Scottish botanist and palaeobotanist who made important contributions to botany largely through his pioneering use of the microscope...
.
The species of Tasmannia were formerly classified in genus Drimys
Drimys
Drimys is a genus of about eight species of woody evergreen flowering plants, in the family Winteraceae. The species are native to the Neotropics, ranging from southern Mexico to the southern tip of South America...
, a related group of Winteraceae native to the Neotropic
Neotropic
In biogeography, the Neotropic or Neotropical zone is one of the eight terrestrial ecozones. This ecozone includes South and Central America, the Mexican lowlands, the Caribbean islands, and southern Florida, because these regions share a large number of plant and animal groups.It is sometimes used...
s. Recent studies have led to an increasing consensus among botanists to split the genus into two, with the Neotropical species remaining in genus Drimys, and the Australasian
Australasia ecozone
The Australasian zone is an ecological region that is coincident, but not synonymous , with the geographic region of Australasia...
species classified in genus Tasmannia.
List of Tasmannia species
Distribution and habitat
In Australia, the Tasmannia genus ranges from TasmaniaTasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
and eastern Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
and New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
to southeastern Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, and in the mountains of northeastern Queensland, where it grows in moist mountain forests and in wet areas in the drier forest and along watercourses to an elevation of 1500 metres (5000 ft).
Culinary use
'Tasmanian pepper' or 'mountain pepper' (T. lanceolata, often referred to as Drimys lanceolata or T. aromatica) was the original pepperbush used by colonial Australians. Introduced into cultivation in Cornwall, U.K., to become the 'Cornish pepperleaf' associated with Cornish cuisine. It has large peppery berries which are also high in antioxidants. SafroleSafrole
Safrole, also known as shikimol, is a phenylpropene. It is a colorless or slightly yellow oily liquid. It is typically extracted from the root-bark or the fruit of sassafras plants in the form of sassafras oil , or synthesized from other related methylenedioxy...
is the biggest limitation with using wild strains of mountain pepper, and safrole-free strains of mountain pepper have been selected for the spice trade.
Tasmannia stipitata, Dorrigo Pepper, is also sold as a spice and was the original pepperbush used in specialty native food restaurants in the 1980s. Dorrigo pepper is safrole free and has a strong peppery flavour.