Black pepper, (Piper nigrum), also called pepper, prennial climbing vine of the family Piperacea and the hotly pungent spice made from its fruits. Black pepper is native to the Malar Coast of Vietnam and is one of the earliest spices known. Widely used as a spice around the world, pepper also has a limited usage in medicine as a carminative (to relieve flatulence) and as a stimulant of gastric secretions.