Piper peltatumL.

monkey's hand

WFO wfo-0000486381 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Piper peltatum, photographed by Jorge I. Merchán Mayorga
fig. a Jorge I. Merchán Mayorga, CC BY-SA 4.0 / 2022-04-03 / obs. 186247400
Piper peltatum, photographed by Светлана Царахова
fig. b Светлана Царахова, CC0 1.0 / obs. 180866015
Piper peltatum, photographed by Miguel Angel Ramírez Guillermo
fig. c Miguel Angel Ramírez Guillermo, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 178647381
Piper peltatum, photographed by Andrés Ramírez-Barrera
fig. d Andrés Ramírez-Barrera, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 173661652
Piper peltatum, photographed by Zoltán Stekkelpak
fig. e Zoltán Stekkelpak, CC0 1.0 / obs. 170441339
Piper peltatum, photographed by Guillaume Delaitre
fig. f Guillaume Delaitre, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 153801884
Piper peltatum, photographed by Wes Gapp
fig. g Wes Gapp, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 146726138
Piper peltatum, photographed by John Abrams
fig. h John Abrams, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 130360436

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 33 botanical countries

Regions where Piper peltatum is native: Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil West-Central, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Leeward Is., Nicaragua, Panamá, Peru, Puerto Rico, Southwest Caribbean, Suriname, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuela, Venezuelan Antilles, Windward Is. Mexico GulfMexico NortheastMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestBelizeBoliviaBrazil NorthBrazil NortheastBrazil SouthBrazil West-CentralColombiaCosta RicaCubaDominican RepublicEcuadorEl SalvadorFrench GuianaGuatemalaGuyanaHaitiHondurasJamaicaNicaraguaPanamáPeruPuerto RicoSouthwest CaribbeanSurinameTrinidad-TobagoVenezuela Leeward Is.Venezuelan AntillesWindward Is.
Native distribution of Piper peltatum, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Belize BLZ SOUTHERN AMERICA
Bolivia BOL
Brazil North BZN
Brazil Northeast BZE
Brazil South BZS
Brazil West-Central BZC
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Cuba CUB
Dominican Republic DOM
Ecuador ECU
El Salvador ELS
French Guiana FRG
Guatemala GUA
Guyana GUY
Haiti HAI
Honduras HON
Jamaica JAM
Leeward Is. LEE
Nicaragua NIC
Panamá PAN
Peru PER
Puerto Rico PUE
Southwest Caribbean SWC
Suriname SUR
Trinidad-Tobago TRT
Venezuela VEN
Venezuelan Antilles VNA
Windward Is. WIN
Mexico Gulf MXG NORTHERN AMERICA
Mexico Northeast MXE
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mexico Southwest MXS

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 32 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Heckeria peltata (L.) Kunth
  • Heckeria scutata (Willd. ex A.Dietr.) Kunth
  • Heckeria speciosa Kunth
  • Lepianthes peltata (L.) Raf. ex R.A.Howard
  • Peperidia peltata (L.) Kostel.
  • Peperomia peltata (L.) A.Dietr.
  • Peperomia pruinosa Kunth
  • Peperomia scutata A.Dietr.
  • Peperomia speciosa Kunth
  • Piper fasciculatum Ruiz & Pav.
  • Piper gemellum Willd. ex Link
  • Piper ottonis (Miq.) C.DC.
  • Piper peltatum var. colombianum C.DC.
  • Piper peltatum var. hirtellum C.DC.
  • Piper pruinosum Kunth
  • Piper scutatum Willd. ex A.Dietr.
  • Piper scutiphyllum Ham.
  • Piper speciosum Kunth
  • Pothomorphe almirantensis Trel.
  • Pothomorphe baileyorum Trel.
  • Pothomorphe baileyorum var. paucispica Trel.
  • Pothomorphe hirsuta Bartl.
  • Pothomorphe lessertiana Miq.
  • Pothomorphe ottonis Miq.

and 8 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. USDA PLANTS Database. common name, checklist symbol LEPE4. public domain. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.