Chavak

It is a glabrous, fleshy climber, cultivated mainly in Southern Indiacultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit of Piper retrofractum is similar in appearance and taste to that of the Long Pepper (P. longum). This plant is a climbing vine with stems of about 3–4 mm in diameter. Its leaves have blades that are glabrous, lanceolate, with acuminate apex and asymmetric base, and are about 10–12 cm long and 3–3.5 cm wide.