Capparis spinosa,thecaper bush,also calledFlinders rose,[3]is aperennialplant that bears rounded, fleshy leaves and large white to pinkish-white flowers.[4][5][6]
| Capparis spinosa | |
|---|---|
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| Illustration byOtto Wilhelm Thomé | |
Scientific classification
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Brassicales |
| Family: | Capparaceae |
| Genus: | Capparis |
| Species: | C. spinosa
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| Binomial name | |
| Capparis spinosa Linnaeus,1753
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| Synonyms[2] | |
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Synonymy
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The taxonomic status of the species is controversial and unsettled. Species within the genusCapparisare highly variable, andinterspecific hybridshave been common throughout the evolutionary history of the genus. As a result, some authors have consideredC. spinosato be composed of multiple distinct species,[7]others that the taxon is a single species with multiple varieties or subspecies,[8][9]or that the taxonC. spinosais a hybrid betweenC. orientalisandC. sicula.[10]
Capparis spinosais native to almost all thecircum-Mediterranean countries,[11]and is included in the flora of most of them, but whether it isindigenousto this region is uncertain. The familyCapparaceaecould have originated in the tropics and later spread to the Mediterranean basin.[12]
The plant is best known for the edible flower buds (capers), used as a seasoning or garnish, and the fruit (caper berries), both of which are usually consumedsaltedorpickled.Other species ofCapparisare also picked along withC. spinosafor their buds or fruits. Other parts ofCapparisplants are used in the manufacture of medicines and cosmetics.
Description
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The shrubby plant is many-branched, withalternate leaves,thick and shiny, round toovate.The flowers arecomplete,sweetly fragrant, and showy, with four sepals and four white to pinkish-white petals, many long violet-coloured stamens, and a single stigma usually rising well above the stamens.[13]
Accepted infraspecifics
editElevensubspeciesand variants are accepted, according toPlants of the World Online:[14]
- Capparis spinosavar.aegyptia(Lam.) Boiss.
- Capparis spinosavar.atlantica(Inocencio, D.Rivera, Obón & Alcaraz) Fici
- Capparis spinosavar.canescensCoss.
- Capparis spinosasubsp.cordifolia(Lam.) Fici
- Capparis spinosavar.herbacea(Willd.) Fici
- Capparis spinosavar.mucronifolia(Boiss.) Hedge & Lamond ex R.R.Stewart
- Capparis spinosavar.myrtifolia(Inocencio, D.Rivera, Obón & Alcaraz) Fici
- Capparis spinosavar.ovata(Desf.) Sm.
- Capparis spinosasubsp.parviflora(Boiss.) Ahmadi, H.Saeidi & Mirtadz.
- Capparis spinosasubsp.rupestris(Sm.) Nyman
- Capparis spinosasubsp.spinosa
Capparis nummulariawas formerly considered a subspecies ofCapparis spinosa.[15]
Distribution and habitat
editCapparis spinosaranges around theMediterranean Basin,Arabian Peninsula,and portions of Western and Central Asia.
In southern Europe, it is found in southern Portugal, southern and eastern Spain (including the Balearic Islands), Mediterranean France including Corsica, Italy including Sicily and Sardinia, Croatia's Dalmatian islands, Albania, Greece and the Greek Islands, western and southern Turkey, on Cyprus, and on the Crimean Peninsula in Ukraine. In Spain, it ranges from sea level up to 1,300 metres (4,300 ft) in elevation.[1]
In northern Africa, it is found throughout the north and the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, where it occurs from sea level up to 2,000 m (6,600 ft) in elevation. It is also found in northern Algeria (Kabylie, coastal Algeria, Bouzaréa, and Oran) and theHoggar Mountainsof the Algerian Sahara, in Tunisia north of the Sahara, andCyrenaicain Libya.[1]
In western Asia, it is found along the eastern Mediterranean in Lebanon, Israel, Syria, and western Jordan, and in the southern Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is also found south of the Caucasus in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and northeastern Turkey. On the Arabian Peninsula it occurs in Oman, Yemen includingSocotra,and Asir province of Saudi Arabia. In central Asia, it inhabits the mountains of central Afghanistan, the lower Karakoram range in northern Pakistan and Ladakh, and Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and eastern Uzbekistan.[1]
Environmental requirements
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The caper bush requires a semiarid or arid climate. The caper bush has developed a series of mechanisms that reduce the impact of high radiation levels, high daily temperature, and insufficient soil water during its growing period.[16][17]
In response to sudden increases in humidity, the bush forms wart-like pockmarks across the leaf surface. It quickly adjusts to the new conditions and produces unaffected leaves.[citation needed]
Agriculture
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Capers can be grown easily from fresh seeds gathered from ripe fruit and planted into a well-drained seed-raising mix. Seedlings appear in two to four weeks. Old, stored seeds enter a state ofdormancyand require coldstratificationto germinate. The viable embryos germinate within three to four days after partial removal of thelignifiedseed coats.[18]The seed coats and the mucilage surrounding the seeds may be ecological adaptations to avoid water loss and conserve seed viability during the dry season.[citation needed]
Orchard establishment
editMean annual temperatures in areas under cultivation are over 14 °C (57 °F). A rainy spring and a hot, dry summer are considered advantageous.[19]This drought-tolerant perennial plant is used for landscaping and reducing erosion along highways, steep rocky slopes, dunes or fragile semiarid ecosystems.[citation needed]
Harvest
editCaper buds are usually picked in the morning.[20]Because the youngest, smallest buds fetch the highest prices, daily picking is typical.[20]
Capers may be harvested from wild plants, in which case it is necessary to know that the plant is not one of the few poisonousCapparisspecies that look similar.[20]The plant normally has curved thorns that may scratch the people who harvest the buds, although a few spineless varieties have been developed.[20]
Uses
edit| Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 96 kJ (23 kcal) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sugars | 0.4 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dietary fiber | 3 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
0.9 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other constituents | Quantity | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Water | 83.8 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Selenium | 1.2 μg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| †Percentages estimated usingUS recommendationsfor adults,[21]except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation fromthe National Academies.[22] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nutrition
editCanned, pickled capers are 84% water, 5%carbohydrates,2%protein,and 1%fat.Preserved capers are particularly high insodiumdue to the amount of salt added to thebrine.In a typical serving of 28 grams (oneounce), capers supply 6kcaland 35% of theDaily Value(DV) for sodium, with no othernutrientsin significant content. In a 100-gram amount, the sodium content is 2960 mg or 197% DV, withvitamin K(23% DV),iron(13% DV), andriboflavin(12% DV) also having appreciable levels.
Culinary
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Thesaltedandpickledcaper bud (simply called a "caper" ) is used as an ingredient,seasoning,orgarnish.Capers are a common ingredient inMediterranean cuisine,especiallyCypriot,Italian,Aeolian Greek,andMaltesefood. The immaturefruitof the capershrubare prepared similarly and marketed as "caper berries". Fully mature fruit are not preferred, as they contain many hard seeds.[citation needed]
The buds, when ready to pick, are a darkolive greenand range in size from under7 mm (1⁄4in) to more than14 mm (1⁄2in). They are picked, then pickled insaltor a salt and vinegar solution, and drained. Intense flavour, sometimes described as being similar to black pepper or mustard, is developed as glucocapparin, aglycosideorganosulfur molecule, is released from each caper bud.[20]Thisenzymatic reactionleads to the formation ofrutin,often seen as crystallized white spots on the surfaces of individual caper buds.[citation needed]
Capers are a distinctive ingredient in Italian cuisine, especially inSicilian,Aeolianand southern Italian cooking. They are commonly used insalads,pasta salads,meat dishes, andpastasauces.Examples of uses in Italian cuisine arepiccatadishes,vitello tonnatoandspaghetti alla puttanesca.[citation needed]
Capers are sometimes an ingredient intartar sauce.They are often served withcold smokedsalmon orcured salmondishes, especiallyloxand cream cheese. Capers and caper berries are sometimes substituted for olives to garnish amartini.[citation needed]
Capers are categorized and sold by their size, defined as follows, with the smallest sizes being the most desirable: non-pareil (up to 7 mm), surfines (7–8 mm), capucines (8–9 mm), capotes (9–11 mm), fines (11–13 mm), and grusas (14+ mm). If the caper bud is not picked, it flowers and produces a caper berry. The fruit can be pickled and then served as a Greekmezze.[citation needed]
Caper leaves, which are hard to find outside ofGreeceorCyprus,are used particularly in salads and fish dishes. They are pickled or boiled and preserved in jars with brine—like caper buds.[citation needed]
Dried caper leaves are also used as a substitute forrennetin manufacturing high-quality cheese.[23]
Polyphenols
editCanned capers containpolyphenols,including theflavonoidsquercetin(173 mg per 100 g) andkaempferol(131 mg per 100 g),[24]as well asanthocyanins.[25]
Other uses
editCapers are sometimes used in cosmetics.[20]
History
editArchaeobotanicalevidence of capers has been found in theMediterraneanregion andMesopotamiaas early as theupper Paleolithicperiod.[10]
The caper was used inancient Greeceas acarminative.It is represented inarchaeologicallevels in the form ofcarbonisedseedsand rarely as flower buds and fruits fromarchaicandclassical antiquitycontexts.AthenaeusinDeipnosophistaepays a lot of attention to the caper, as doPliny(NHXIX, XLVIII.163) andTheophrastus.[26]
Etymologically,the caper and its relatives in several European languages can be traced back toClassical Latincapparis,"caper", in turn, borrowed from theGreekκάππαρις,kápparis,whose origin (as with that of the plant) is unknown but is probably Asian.[citation needed]Another theory linkskápparisto the name of the island ofCyprus(Κύπρος,Kýpros), where capers grow abundantly.[27]
InBiblical times,the caper berry was supposed to haveaphrodisiacproperties;[28]the Hebrew wordaviyyonah(אֲבִיּוֹנָה) for caperberry is closely linked to the Hebrew root אבה (avah), meaning "desire".[29]
The berries (abiyyonot) were eaten, as appears from their liability to tithes and the restrictions of the'Orlah.They are carefully distinguished in theMishnahand theTalmudfrom the caper leaves,alin,shoots,temarot,[30]and the caper buds,capperisin(note the similarity "caper" isin to "caper" );[31]all of which were eaten as seen from the blessing requirement, and declared to be the fruit of theẓelafor caper plant.[30] The "capperisin" mentioned in the Talmud are actually referring to a shell that protected the "abiyyonot" as it grew.[32]
Talmud Bavlidiscusses the eating of caper sepals versus caper berries, both inIsraeland inSyria.[30]
Capers are mentioned as a spice in the Roman cookbookApicius.[20]
In his 14th-century workKaftor va-Ferach (Hebrew:כפתור ופרח),Ishtori Haparchinotes that capers were grown in theJordan Valleyregion.[33]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^abcdRankou, H., M'Sou, S., Diarra, A. & Ait Babahmad, R.A. 2020.Capparis spinosa.The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species2020: e.T137745831A139593491.https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T137745831A139593491.en.Downloaded on 24 September 2021.
- ^The Plant List,Capparis spinosaL
- ^"Capparis spinosa".Germplasm Resources Information Network.Agricultural Research Service,United States Department of Agriculture.Retrieved11 December2017.
- ^Altervista Flora Italiana, Cappero, Kapernstrauch,Capparis spinosaL.includes photos and European distribution map
- ^Flora of China,Sơn camshan gan,Capparis spinosaLinnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 503. 1753.
- ^"Capparis spinosaL. "Atlas of Living Australia.
- ^Zohary, M. (1960). "The species ofCapparisin the Mediterranean and the Near Eastern Countries. "Bulletin of the Research Council of Israel,Section D, Botany8(2): 49-64
- ^Jacobs, M. (1965)."The genusCapparis(Capparaceae) from the Indus to the Pacific ".Blumea.12:385–541.
- ^Heywood V.H. (1993). "Flowering plants of the world." Oxford University Press, New York
- ^abD. Rivera, C. Inocencio, C. Obón, E. Carreño, A. Reales, F. Alcaraz. (2002). "Archaeobotany of capers (Capparis) (Capparaceae). "Vegetation History and Archaeobotany.11(4): 295–313
- ^Fici, S. (2001). "Intraspecific variation and evolutionary trends inCapparis spinosaL. (Capparaceae) ".Plant Systematics and Evolution.228(3–4):123–141.Bibcode:2001PSyEv.228..123F.doi:10.1007/s006060170024.S2CID8713605.
- ^Pugnaire de Iraola, F.I. (1989). "Nota sobre lasCapparaceaeibéricas ".Blancoana.7:121–122.
- ^Watson, L.; M.J. Dallwitz (1992)."The Families of Flowering Plants".Archived fromthe originalon 1 November 2006.Retrieved21 November2006.
- ^"Capparis spinosa L. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science".Plants of the World Online.Retrieved8 December2024.
- ^"Capparis spinosa subsp. nummularia (DC.) Fici | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science".Plants of the World Online.Retrieved8 December2024.
- ^Rhizopoulou, S. (1990). "Physiological responses ofCapparis spinosaL. to drought. "Journal of Plant Physiology136:341–348.
- ^Levizou, E; P. Drilias; A. Kyparissis (2004). "Exceptional photosynthetic performance ofCapparis spinosaL. under adverse conditions of Mediterranean summer. "Photosynthetica.42:229–235
- ^Sozzi, G.O.; A. Chiesa (1995). "Improvement of caper (Capparis spinosaL.) seed germination by breaking seed coat-induced dormancy ".Scientia Horticulturae.62(4):255–261.Bibcode:1995ScHor..62..255S.doi:10.1016/0304-4238(95)00779-S.
- ^Barbera, B. (1991). Le câprier (Capparisspp.). EUR 13617, Série Agriculture, Programme de recherche Agrimed. Commission des Communautés européennes, Luxembourg, 63 pp.
- ^abcdefgSmall, Ernest (23 August 2011).Top 100 Exotic Food Plants.Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press. pp.121–123.ISBN978-1439856888.
- ^United States Food and Drug Administration(2024)."Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels".FDA.Archivedfrom the original on 27 March 2024.Retrieved28 March2024.
- ^National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Food and Nutrition Board; Committee to Review the Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium (2019)."Chapter 4: Potassium: Dietary Reference Intakes for Adequacy".In Oria, Maria; Harrison, Meghan; Stallings, Virginia A. (eds.).Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium.The National Academies Collection: Reports funded by National Institutes of Health. Washington, DC: National Academies Press (US). pp.120–121.doi:10.17226/25353.ISBN978-0-309-48834-1.PMID30844154.Retrieved5 December2024.
- ^Mike, Tad, "Capers: The Flower Inside",Epikouria Magazine,Fall/Winter 2006
- ^"USDA Database for the Flavonoid Content of Selected Foods, Release 3, page 16"(PDF).US Department of Agriculture. 2011. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 16 July 2012.Retrieved12 July2016.
- ^Mansour, R. B.; Jilani, I. B.; Bouaziz, M; Gargouri, B; Elloumi, N; Attia, H; Ghrabi-Gammar, Z; Lassoued, S (2016)."Phenolic contents and antioxidant activity of ethanolic extract of Capparis spinosa".Cytotechnology.68(1):135–42.doi:10.1007/s10616-014-9764-6.PMC4698273.PMID25377263.
- ^Fragiska, M. (2005). Wild and Cultivated Vegetables, Herbs and Spices in Greek Antiquity.Environmental Archaeology10(1): 73–82
- ^Gernot Katzer."Spice Pages: Capers (Capparis spinosa)".gernot-katzers-spice-pages.
- ^Kohler, Kaufmann;Hyvernat, Henry(1906)."Caper-berry".The Jewish Encyclopedia.
- ^See, e.g.Gesenius's lexicon,via Blue Letter Bible
- ^abcTalmud Bavli, Brachot 36a-36b
- ^Kaf HaChaim 208
- ^Rashi Brachot 36a
- ^Amar, Zohar (1993)."Estori ha-Parchi and the Identification of the Flora of Eretz Israel".Proceedings of the World Congress of Jewish Studies(in Hebrew).11:137.ISSN0333-9068.
External links
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- Caper factsheet– NewCROP, Purdue University
- Caperplants
- Brian Noone (2017).Capers: From Wild Harvest to Gourmet Food.Ethelton, S. Aust.: Caperplants.ISBN9780995353008.OCLC962480826.