Capparis spinosa, thecaper bush, also calledFlinders rose,[3] is aperennial plant that bears rounded, fleshy leaves and large white to pinkish-white flowers.[4][5][6]
The taxonomic status of the species is controversial and unsettled. Species within the genusCapparis are highly variable, andinterspecific hybrids have been common throughout the evolutionary history of the genus. As a result, some authors have consideredC. spinosa to 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. spinosa is a hybrid betweenC. orientalis andC. sicula.[10]
Capparis spinosa is native to almost all thecircum-Mediterranean countries,[11] and is included in the flora of most of them, but whether it isindigenous to this region is uncertain. The familyCapparaceae could 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 consumedsalted orpickled. Other species ofCapparis are also picked along withC. spinosa for their buds or fruits. Other parts ofCapparis plants are used in the manufacture of medicines and cosmetics.
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]
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 Mountains of the Algerian Sahara, in Tunisia north of the Sahara, andCyrenaica in 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]
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]
Flowering caper plant, soon to yield caper berries
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 ofdormancy and require coldstratification to germinate. The viable embryos germinate within three to four days after partial removal of thelignified seed 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]
Mean 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]
Caper 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 poisonousCapparis species 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]
Canned, pickled capers are 84% water, 5%carbohydrates, 2%protein, and 1%fat. Preserved capers are particularly high insodium due to the amount of salt added to thebrine. In a typical serving of 28 grams (oneounce), capers supply 6kcal and 35% of theDaily Value (DV) for sodium, with no othernutrients in 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.
The buds, when ready to pick, are a darkolive green and range in size from under 7 mm (1⁄4 in) to more than14 mm (1⁄2 in). They are picked, then pickled insalt or a salt and vinegar solution, and drained. Intense flavour, sometimes described as being similar to black pepper or mustard, is developed as glucocapparin, aglycoside organosulfur molecule, is released from each caper bud.[20] Thisenzymatic reaction leads to the formation ofrutin, often seen as crystallized white spots on the surfaces of individual caper buds.[citation needed]
Capers are sometimes an ingredient intartar sauce. They are often served withcold smoked salmon orcured salmon dishes, especiallylox and 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 ofGreece orCyprus, 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 forrennet in manufacturing high-quality cheese.[23]
Etymologically, the caper and its relatives in several European languages can be traced back toClassical Latincapparis, "caper", in turn, borrowed from theGreek κάππαρις,kápparis, whose origin (as with that of the plant) is unknown but is probably Asian.[citation needed] Another theory linkskápparis to the name of the island ofCyprus (Κύπρος,Kýpros), where capers grow abundantly.[27]
A ripe caper fruit (caper berry)
InBiblical times, the caper berry was supposed to haveaphrodisiac properties;[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 theMishnah and theTalmud from 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 theẓelaf or caper plant.[30]The "capperisin" mentioned in the Talmud are actually referring to a shell that protected the "abiyyonot" as it grew.[32]
^Zohary, M. (1960). "The species ofCapparis in the Mediterranean and the Near Eastern Countries."Bulletin of the Research Council of Israel, Section D, Botany8(2): 49-64
^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
^Rhizopoulou, S. (1990). "Physiological responses ofCapparis spinosa L. to drought."Journal of Plant Physiology136: 341–348.
^Levizou, E; P. Drilias; A. Kyparissis (2004). "Exceptional photosynthetic performance ofCapparis spinosa L. under adverse conditions of Mediterranean summer."Photosynthetica.42: 229–235
^Sozzi, G.O.; A. Chiesa (1995). "Improvement of caper (Capparis spinosa L.) 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 (Capparis spp.). EUR 13617, Série Agriculture, Programme de recherche Agrimed. Commission des Communautés européennes, Luxembourg, 63 pp.
