Tasmannia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tasmannia
Tasmannia lanceolata Mount Donna Buang, Victoria, Australia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Magnoliids
Order:	Canellales
Family:	Winteraceae
Genus:	Tasmannia R.Br.

Tasmannia is a group of woody, evergreen plants that have flowers. They grow naturally in places like Australia, New Guinea, and the Philippines. Most types of Tasmannia plants have smelly bark and leaves. Some are used to make special essential oils. Their fruits and leaves taste like pepper, especially when dried. People in Australia use them more and more as a spice. They get their peppery taste from a natural chemical called polygodial. The flavor is a mix between chile and black pepper.

Where Tasmannia Plants Grow

In Australia, you can find Tasmannia plants in Tasmania, eastern Victoria, New South Wales, and southeastern Queensland. They also grow in the mountains of northeastern Queensland. These plants like to grow in wet mountain forests. You can also find them in damp areas of drier forests and along waterways. They can grow up to 1,500 meters (about 5,000 feet) high in the mountains.

Using Tasmannia in Cooking

Tasmanian Pepper and Its History

'Tasmanian pepper' or 'mountain pepper' was the first pepper bush used by early settlers in Australia. It was even grown in Cornwall in England. There, it became known as 'Cornish pepperleaf' and was used in Cornish cooking. This plant has large, peppery berries that are also full of antioxidants. Antioxidants are good for your body. To make sure it's safe for food, only special kinds of mountain pepper that don't have a certain natural chemical are chosen for the spice trade.

Dorrigo Pepper as a Spice

Dorrigo pepper (Tasmannia stipitata) was a popular pepper bush in special food restaurants back in the 1980s. Today, it is also sold as a spice. Dorrigo pepper does not have the natural chemical that makes other types unsafe. It has a very strong peppery flavor.