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    Water Pepper (Polygonum hydropiper L.)

    Synonyms

    botPersicaria hydropiper (L.) Spach
    AlbanianNejca e ujit
    BengaliPakarmul
    BulgarianПипериче
    Piperiche
    Chinese
    (Mandarin)    		辣蓼 [là liǎo], 水蓼 [shǔi liǎo]
    La liao, Shui liao
    CroatianVodeni papar
    CzechRdesno peprník
    DutchWaterpeper
    EnglishSmartweed, Marshpepper
    EstonianMõru kirburohi
    Farsiکرگزنه
    Kargazaneh
    FinnishKatkeratatar, Akantatar
    FrenchPoivre d'eau, Renouée
    GaelicLus an fhògair
    GermanWasserpfeffer
    GreekΝεροπιπεριά
    Neropiperia
    HungarianBorsos keserűfű, Vízibors
    IndonesianSi tuba sawah
    ItalianPoligono pepe d'acqua
    Japaneseタデ, アサブタデ, ベニタデ, ヤナギタデ
    Azebu-tade, Asabu-tade, Benitade, Tade, Yanagi-tade
    Korean개여뀌, 여뀌, 여뀌과
    Gaeyeoggwi, Kaeyogwi, Yeoggwi, Yogwi, Yeoggwigwa
    MalayDaun senahun, Rumput tuboh, Senahun, Tube Seluwang
    NorwegianVaspeppar
    PolishRdest ostrogorzki
    PortugueseErva-pessegueira, Erva-de-bicho; Persicária (Brazil)
    ProvençalPebre d'aigo
    RomanianPiper de baltă, Piperul broașteiPiperul broaştei, Dintele dracului
    RussianГорец перечный, Перец водяной
    Gorets perechnyj, Perets vodyanoj
    SlovakŠtiav pieprový, Stavikrv pieprový, Horčiak pieprový
    SlovenianPoprasta drese
    SpanishPimienta acuática
    SwedishBitterblad, Bitterpilört
    Thaiผักไผ่น้ำ
    Phak phai nam, Phakchi mi
    TurkishSu biberi, Yeşil subiberi
    UkrainianГірчак перцевий, Водяний перець, Чередник, Собачий перець
    Hirchak pertsevyj, Vodyanyj perets, Sobachyj perets, Cherednyk
    VietnameseNghể nước, Nghể răm
    Nghe nuoc, Nghe ram
    Polygonum/Persicasia hydropiper: Water pepper leaf
    Water pepper leaf
    Polygonum/Persicaria hydropiper: Water pepper seeds
    Dried water pepper seeds

    Used plant part

    In Japanese cooking, the fresh leaves are used. The dried seeds have a strong pungency, but I have not heard of them being used in any ethnic cuisine.

    Plant family

    Polygonaceae (buckwheat family)

    Sensory quality

    The plant has hardly any odour. On chewing, it is slightly bitter in the first moment, but then develops a pungent, biting-prickling heat, which lasts for a while, similar to sichuan pepper.

    See also negro pepper about pungent and zedoary about bitter spices.

    Main constituents

    A bicyclic sesquiterpenoid, polygodial (tadeonal, an unsaturated dialdehyd with a drimane backbone) has been found responsible for the pungent taste; rutin (see rue) is the source of the bitter taste impression. Polygodial also appears in an exotic Australian spice, Tasmanian pepper, and, in small quantity, in the Brazil paracress.

    The plant contains an essential oil (0.5%) which is mainly made up of monoterpenoids and sesquiterpenoids: α-pinene, β-pinene, 1,4-cineol, fenchone and α-humulene, β-caryophyllene, trans-β-bergamotene. Carboxylic acids (cinnamic, valeric, capronic acid) and their esters were present in traces. The composition depends strongly on genetic factors.

    Origin

    The plant grows at wet places in temperate to tropical Eurasia, North Africa and North America. The subspecies from temperate climate (ssp. hydropiper) is larger and has two-sided fruits, whereas the tropical subspecies (ssp. microcarpum) is generally smaller and produces three-sided fruits.
    Polygonum/Persicaria hydropiper: Water pepper twig
    Water pepper twig bearing flowers
    Polygonum/Persicaria hydropiper: Water pepper flower
    Water pepper flower

    Etymology

    The term water pepper is motivated on one hand by the pungent peppery taste and on the other side by the plant's natural habitat; analogue formations are found in other European languages (German Wasserpfeffer, French poivre d'eau or Russian perets vodyanoj [перец водыной]). Cf. also the English term marsh pepper and the Romanian name piper broaștei “frog's pepper”.

    The botanical species name, hydropiper, derives directly from the classical Greek plant name hydropeperi [ὑδροπέπερι], which appears in Dioskurides' medical plant book (hydor [ὕδορ] “water” and peperi [πέπερι] “pepper”).

    The word water has relatives in nearly every Indo-European language: Hittitee watar, Greek hydor [ὕδορ], Russian voda [вода] (vodka [водка] is a diminutive “little water”), Irish uisce (whisky is shortened from Gaelic uisge beatha “water of life”), Lithuanian vanduo, Sanskrit uda [उद] “water”, furthermore Latin unda “wave”. Another related English words are otter and possibly aurochs. At these words' basis lies a variable Indo-European root AUD-, WED- or WD- “water”, which is itself derived from AU- “moisten”, “flow”.

    The Latin word for water, aqua, lives today in the Romance languages, e.g., in Italian acqua and French eau. In Germanic tongues, we have Gothic ahva, Old High German aha, Old English ea and Old Norse a “water”, Modern German Au “area around a river”. Possibly related words are found in other Western Indo-European tongues: Hittitee ekuzi “he drinks” and Tocharic yok- “drink”, which might all derive from Indo-European AKWA- “water”.

    About the genus name Polygonum, see the closely related Vietnamese coriander.

    Selected Links

    Sorting Persicaria names (www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au)

    Polygonum/Persicaria hydropiper: Water pepper (sterile twig)
    Water pepper (sterile twig)
    Water pepper, despite being native in a large area of Eurasia, is little used for cooking outside of Japan. Its clear pungency makes it stand apart from all other pungent spices (and difficult to substitute), only the leaves of Tasmanian pepper have a comparable taste.

    Since water pepper has not any specific taste beside its pungency, it is well suited for Japanese cookery (see also wasabi). Japanese cooks love water pepper for soups and salads, to which it lends certain pungency without masking the subtle flavour of see weed or fish. Water pepper can also be used to garnish sushi.

    Water pepper seeds, although not used traditionally in any cuisine I know, have a strong, almost anaesthetic, pungency, which makes them an interesting spice and well worth trying. They somewhat remind to the Tasmanian peppercorns; although they lack the latter's sweet flavour, they make an almost perfect substitute. Water pepper seeds have been used as a substitute for black pepper in Germany in the years after World War II, but are not commercially available nowadays.

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    Modification date: 27 Nov 2000