Opening flower of Capparis spinosa
Commonly known as caper, caperberry or caperbush, Capparis spinosa is a scrambling perennial shrub perhaps native to southern Europe, northeastern Africa including Madagascar, southwestern and central Asia, Australia and Oceania. It is thought to be an archaeophyte, or a plant introduced to some of these areas in ancient times. Its country of origin is unknown, but some have speculated that caperbush may have first come from the Mediterranean region.
Caperbush grows quickly, producing new stems each year from a woody base as well as many branches. Mature plants are typically 1 to 1.5m tall and 2 to 3m wide. The glossy dark-green fleshy leaves are round to ovate, and arranged alternately on the stem. A sharp pair of spines grows from the base of each petiole, earning the plant its specific epithet, spinosa.
The fragrant white blossoms unfurl on first-year branches from May to September. Five to eight centimers in diameter, each perfect flower bears a single stigma surrounded by many vivid purple stamens. New flowers open in the early morning and wilt by the middle of the day, after being pollinated by insects. The dehiscent ripe fruits or berries contain large grey-brown seeds that are shaped like kidneys.
Capparis spinosa thrives in nutrient-poor soils. The species is tolerant of drought and salt spray. It is often found growing on embankments, in rocky seaside areas and in the crevices of stone structures, where its extensive root system firmly anchors it to the rock. Caperbush grows best in dry heat and strong sunlight. It is hardy only to -8ºC, nor can it survive in shady areas.
Caper plants have been a part of cuisine and medicine since ancient times. The carbonized remains of caper plants, dated between 9500 BC and 400 BC, have been found in Iraq, Syria and Greece. Dry clumps of caper seeds estimated to be 2800 years old were recently discovered in the Yanghai Tombs in the Turpin District, Xinjiang, China (see: Jiang, H-E. et al. (2007). The discovery of Capparis spinosa L. (Capparidaceae) in the Yanghai Tombs (2800 years b.p.), NW China, and its medicinal implications. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2007.06.020 ). While not the oldest remains to be discovered, the seeds from the Yanghai Tombs are remarkably well-preserved and likely indicate the medicinal use of capers in ancient China. In 1st century Rome, Pliny the Elder listed eighteen remedies that could be prepared using parts of the caper plant, including remedies for toothache, “affections of the spleen”, ear ache, diseases of the bladder, tapeworms, and certain kinds of ulcers. The flower buds are said to have anti-inflammatory properties and are traditionally used to treat rheumatism.
Capparis spinosa is commercially grown in Italy, Spain, France and Algeria for its immature flower buds, which make a sharp accompaniment to Mediterranean dishes when cured in salt or vinegar. Commercially-grown cultivars of Capparis spinosa are generally spineless with compact, flavourful flower buds. One three-year-old shrub can produce 1-3 kilograms of flower buds each harvest season. The buds are harvested early in the morning on dry days. They are then washed with saltwater, wilted, and preserved by pickling or salting. The buds are sorted according to size, with the smallest capers considered to be the highest quality. Their flavour, which can be described as a cross between mustard and black pepper, is derived from mustard oil (methyl isothiocyanate). This is released from glucocapparin molecules during the curing process. The cured flower buds or capers are used in a variety of dishes including pastas, meats, fish, and sauces. It is recommended to rinse the capers in cold water before use so that their peppery taste is not overcome by the taste of the pickling brine.
Other parts of the caper plant are also edible: the young shoots are sometimes pickled or cooked like asparagus, while the ripe and unripe berries may be pickled, cooked as vegetables or made into sauces. Ash from the burned roots has been used as a form of salt.
I will add to what Madeline wrote that the family for this genus is sometimes spelled as Capparidaceae and other times as Capparaceae. I’ve opted to use the name from the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group IV.
Every day a new delight, now that you’re back, Daniel! The capparis spinosas, already interesting, and then—I investigate “dehiscent” and discovered a world of plants I already know from garden and wild flowers- but now I can combine them all by the characteristic of dehiscent seed dispersal. A whole new world of plant organization opens up to the mind of a humble gardener!
My next delight, the history of this plant from ancient times- is again an intriguing story of the talents of people worldwide who uncover this ancient history.
Then, the final delight—I realize this beautiful flower, with such a story, is my little bottled caper, which I love with my smoked salmon and cream cheese. I will never view a caper the same way again!
Thank-you, Daniel, for sharing so generously your joy and vast, wide-ranging knowledge with us all!
Dehiscent is a delicious word and concept to know and observe. Oh, those crafty plants and their plans to send their children abroad!
Thank you for the kind words, Anna. Though, credit for this entry goes to Madeline for the writing and Mats for the photograph! I just do the editing for these. And, it’s all possible because UBC Botanical Garden (and UBC) supports it, as well as some kind donors who help fund the students.
Interesting comment about the family, I just assumed, having not noticed or forgotten the info at the top of the posting, that since it contained mustard oil it would be in the Brassicaceae family. I see that there are several isothiocyanates, all in the order Brassicales.
Excellent capture. Well lit.
Beautiful and tasty.
I am SO glad you’re all back! Thank you for all you do!
Thank you for showing my photo.
I’m really glad that you are are back. Please add RSS so it’s easier to follow.
Yes, I will continue trying to figure out why the RSS isn’t working very well. I managed to get a feed working in Feedly because I knew the URL, but the auto-discovery is being a bit of a challenge.
Is the plant family name Capparaceae or Capparidaceae?
The International Code of Botanical Nomenclature specifies that plant names are to be rendered in Latin according to specific rules for each category or taxonomic level: Order, Family, Genus, Species, etc.
Plant family names are formed by adding the standard family ending “-aceae” to the stem of the name. The stem of the name is found by removing the “ending” from the genitive singular of the name. There are five noun declensions in Latin, and some of them have irregular stems and endings.
From my classical Latin days I always assumed that the correct family name for this species to be Capparidaceae, based on what I thought to be the genitive singular: capparidis (one of those irregular nouns of the third declension whose genitive singular has an extra syllable with the letter “d” included). The family name would then be formed by removing the “-is” ending from the genitive singular (giving us “capparid-“: the “stem” of the word) and adding the standard “-aceae” family ending, thereby yielding Capparidaceae.
However a consultation of a Latin dictionary reveals that this name is not an irregular noun of the third declension, but a regular noun of the third declension: meaning that the genitive singular is not “capparidis” but “capparis” (just like the nominative singular).
So the formation of the family name is achieved by adding the standard “-aceae” ending to the stem, which is now found by removing the ending “-is” from the genitive singular which is “capparis,” yielding “Capparaceae.”
This is not, however, the same situation with the family name for the milkweeds. The nominative singular is “Asclepias” but the genitive singular is “Asclepiadis.” This gives us the family name “Asclepiadaceae.”
After conducting a web search I see that there are some sites that use “Capparidaceae” with or without an indication of the alternative “Capparaceae.” Some botanists (eg. Crosswhite and Iltis 1966) through the years have assumed, as I did, that “Capparidaceae” is the correct form, but this view cannot be supported from classical Latin usage since this species was well known to ancient writers, and has entered into classical lexicons as: “Capparis” (nom. sing.), “Capparis” (gen. sing.) and not “Capparis” (nom. sing.), “Capparidis” (gen sing.).
So after all of this, Daniel has it correct at the top of this Webpage: Capparaceae.
Yes, I remember learning it as Capparidaceae. Capparaceae sure sounds odd, but you’ve provided an excellent explanation of why that one is correct.
Interesting entry, thank you.
Daniel, I’m so glad you’re back! The photos are always a visual poem, & I learn so much from every entry.
For example: I thought capers are the buds of the nasturtium plant. Today’s BPOD led me to look into that belief, & guess what: nasturtium buds are called poor man’s capers & are not the real thing. Who knew? Not I.
Here in Souther Spain it grows wild but can be regarded as a “nice weed”. We let them grow where we can.
Lovely! Indeed in many parts of Spain it’s rather common to find them growing on old city walls and fortifications, and some towns or villages may pick(le) them and sell them afterwards.
The fruit may also be pickled and eaten, although the flavour is much sharper than that of the buds… also, there are apparently different “varieties” (or landraces, I haven’t checked the science there) that are recognised as gastronomically distinct by organisations such as Slow Food. I once had the pleasure of attending a caper tasting session and a tour around caper bush “plantations” — and the varieties we sampled did have flavours that were different, in subtle ways…