Capers
| Capparis spinosa | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Illustration by Otto Wilhelm Thomé | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Brassicales |
| Family: | Capparaceae |
| Genus: | Capparis |
| Species: | C. spinosa |
| Binomial name | |
|
Capparis spinosa Linnaeus, 1753 |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Synonymy
|
|
| 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
|
|
| Vitamins | |
| Thiamine (B1) |
(2%)
0.018 mg |
| Riboflavin (B2) |
(12%)
0.139 mg |
| Niacin (B3) |
(4%)
0.652 mg |
| Pantothenic acid (B5) |
(1%)
0.027 mg |
| Vitamin B6 |
(2%)
0.023 mg |
| Folate (B9) |
(6%)
23 μg |
| Vitamin C |
(5%)
4 mg |
| Vitamin E |
(6%)
0.88 mg |
| Vitamin K |
(23%)
24.6 μg |
| Minerals | |
| Calcium |
(4%)
40 mg |
| Iron |
(13%)
1.7 mg |
| Sodium |
(197%)
2960 mg |
| Other constituents | |
| Water | 83.8 g |
| Selenium | 1.2 μg |
|
|
|
|
|
| Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults. Source: USDA Nutrient Database |
|
Capparis spinosa, the caper bush, also called Flinders rose, is a perennial plant that bears rounded, fleshy leaves and large white to pinkish-white flowers.
The plant is best known for the edible flower buds (capers), often used as a seasoning, and the fruit (caper berries), both of which are usually consumed pickled. Other species of Capparis are also picked along with C. spinosa for their buds or fruits. Other parts of Capparis plants are used in the manufacture of medicines and cosmetics.
Capparis spinosa is found in the wild in the Mediterranean, East Africa, Madagascar, South-Western and Central Asia, the Himalayas, the Pacific Islands, Indomalaya, and Australia. It is present in almost all the circum-Mediterranean countries, and is included in the flora of most of them, but whether it is indigenous to this region is uncertain. Although the flora of the Mediterranean region has considerable endemism, the caper bush could have originated in the tropics, and later been naturalized to the Mediterranean basin.
The taxonomic status of the species is controversial and unsettled. Species within the genus Capparis are highly variable, and interspecific hybrids have been common throughout the evolutionary history of the genus. As a result, some authors have considered C. spinosa to be composed of multiple distinct species, others that the taxon is a single species with multiple varieties or subspecies, or that the taxon C. spinosa is a hybrid between C. orientalis and C. sicula.
The shrubby plant is many-branched, with alternate leaves, thick and shiny, round to ovate. The flowers are complete, sweetly fragrant, and showy, with four sepals and four white to pinkish-white petals, and many long violet-colored stamens, and a single stigma usually rising well above the stamens.
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Wikipedia