Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Tier in the North East
Highlands of Tasmania at Goulds Country and Lottah, we have
established our Mountain Pepperberry plantations that are
now ready for harvest. We also harvest Native Pepper berries from
several private farms that have wild pepper trees growing on fallen
myrtle logs left by early pioneering farmers and on rocky outcrops
in alpine paddocks.
We are continuously expanding our plantations and improving our
available wild harvest through pruning and fertilising with organic
fertilisers. We first planted our plantation trees in 2005 and
harvested the first commercial crop in 2015.
We are a proud Tasmanian business, looking to downstream our products,
create local employment, work with and support other local producers
of quality Tasmanian products.
Native Pepper (Tasmannia lanceolata), also known as
Mountain Pepper, is a very attractive shrub, hardy
in its natural environment and growing up to 10 metres in some areas
but in open alpine areas may be considerably smaller.
Mountain Pepper has both male and female plants that flower in October
and November with the berry ripening from April through to June.
The leaves and berries contain the active compound 'polygodial' which
gives them the peppery taste.
They are high in antioxidants and antimicrobial activity. Studies are
still ongoing into the medicinal and nutritional properties of this
beautiful and useful plant.
The plant was very special to the indigenous Tasmanians who used both
the leaves and berries for food and medicine. The berry is also a
favourite food of the black currawong, that spreads the seed far and
wide in its droppings, helping to establish new plants on manferns,
fallen logs and disturbed rainforest areas.
150227 - 12663 (7, 7, 735, 12663)