Lolot pepper
Piper sarmentosum Roxb.
Lolot pepper (Piper sarmentosum) is a perennial herb of the pepper family with aromatic heart-shaped leaves used to wrap grilled meat; also a warming, pain-relieving folk remedy.
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Gallery
Lolot pepper — Leaves & immature fruit clusterLolot pepper — Plant
Lolot pepper — Leaves
Lolot pepper — Leaves
Lolot pepper — Leaves & young fruit
Lolot pepper — Branch with fruitLolot pepper — Leaves & immature fruit clusterLolot pepper — PlantOverview
A perennial herb with creeping rhizomes; young stems grow erect to about 40 cm and later sprawl, with striped stems. Leaves are simple, alternate, heart-shaped and thin, 8–10 cm long by 8–11 cm wide, glossy above with oil glands, showing five main veins from the base, on sheathing petioles. Small erect white spikes 1–2 cm long emerge from the leaf axils; the fruit is a one-seeded berry. The former name Piper lolot is now recognised as the same species.
Lolot leaves are aromatic and slightly pungent, a signature flavouring in Vietnamese cooking — grilled beef or minced-pork rolls wrapped in the leaf, and soups. In traditional medicine the pungent, warming leaves are used against cold, bloating, vomiting, rheumatism and toothache, and pounded leaves are applied to wounds. Leaves and stems contain alkaloids and an essential oil dominated by beta-caryophyllene, while the root oil is rich in benzyl acetate. The leaf is also used in Lao and Thai cuisine (chaphlu), in Malaysia, and in wild-betel rice from Zhanjiang, Guangdong.
Life cycle
From seed to productGrowth
Creeping rhizomes spread, young stems first erect then sprawling; favours damp spots.
Flowering
Erect white spikes emerge from the leaf axils.
Fruiting
Small one-seeded berries form on mature branches.
Harvest & use
Leaves are picked year-round for wrapping grilled meat, soups or decoctions.
Distribution & origin
Share of recorded occurrences by region- Southeast Asia (incl. Vietnam)45%
- Northeast India · Bangladesh20%
- South China20%
- Andaman Islands15%
Chemical composition
Relative content in agarwood resin- β-CaryophylleneMain component of leaf and stem oil45%
- Benzyl acetateMain component of root oil30%
- AlkaloidsPresent in leaves and stems25%
Uses
- Grilled beef and minced-pork rolls wrapped in lolot leaves — signature Vietnamese dishes
- Warming folk remedy: decoctions for bloating and vomiting, root for rheumatism, chewing for toothache, pounded leaves for wounds
- Used in Lao and Thai cuisine (chaphlu), Malaysia, and wild-betel rice in Guangdong, China
Properties
- Stem
- Herb with creeping rhizome, striped stem
- Leaf
- Heart-shaped, thin, glossy, 5 main veins
- Aroma
- Aromatic and slightly pungent
- Fruit
- Berry with a single seed
Habitat & conservation
Humid tropics, usually by watercourses or in moist shaded spots; easily propagated from cuttings in damp soil. Range spans Southeast Asia, Northeast India, South China and the Andaman Islands.
Conservation
Not Evaluated on the IUCN Red List. Lolot pepper is common in the wild and widely cultivated across Southeast Asia as a flavouring and medicine, and is not threatened.
References
- 1Plants of the World Online — Piper sarmentosum Roxb. — Kew Science, 2026
- 2Piper sarmentosum (lolot pepper, wild betel) — mô tả, phân bố, ẩm thực — English Wikipedia, 2026
- 3Lá lốt — đặc điểm, công dụng, thành phần tinh dầu — Vietnamese Wikipedia, 2026
- 4Nguồn ảnh: Lê Huỳnh Bộ (CC BY-SA 4.0) — Wikimedia Commons,
- 5Nguồn ảnh: Hải Vũ Thanh (CC BY-SA 4.0) — Wikimedia Commons,
- 6Nguồn ảnh: Prenn (CC BY-SA 3.0) — Wikimedia Commons,
- 7Nguồn ảnh: Forest & Kim Starr (CC BY 3.0) — Wikimedia Commons,
- 8Nguồn ảnh: Didier Descouens (CC BY-SA 4.0) — Wikimedia Commons,