On Wed, 31 Mar 1999, Rosemary Basil <rosemarybasil@yahoo.com> wrote: > There is a discussion going on at one of my clubs about > a kind of "Brazilian pepper tree" being circulated > someplace on the web as pepper seed and I wonder if > anyone on this list knows more about it. It doesn't > sound like a fun kind of "pepper" plant. Info > appreciated. According to _Index of Garden Plants_ by Mark Griffiths (ISBN 0-88192-246-3), the botanical name for the Brazilian Pepper Tree is Schinus terebinthifolius and grows to 7m (23 feet) tall. I'm not positive but I think S. mollis is called a Pepper Tree also. I then checked _Cornucopia II: A Source Book of Edible Plants by Stephen Facciola (ISBN 0-9628087-2-5) where S. terebinthifolius is listed as being edible. But in the description it says "...The peppery seeds are sold in expensive specialty markets and are used as a spice in Cajun and Nouvelle cuisines. However, they are known to cause rashes, vomiting, and diarrhea in some sensitive individuals...." The National Geographic Society book _Alien Invaders_ by Robert Devine (ISBN 0-7922-7392-9) discusses this plant and concludes that mechanical (bulldozers & trucks) eradication is probably the beast. ==================================================================== Bob Batson L 39 12 14 N 94 33 16 W bob@sky.net Kansas City TCS - Mystic Fire Priest USDA zone 5b ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Under the most controlled conditions, the experimental apparatus will do exactly as it pleases.