I sat under a pepper tree and read about how the New Zealand shrubs Pseudowintera axillaris and Pseudowintera colorata, with their large red-blotched leaves used in traditional medicine, produce greenish-yellow flowers and orange-red or black fruit.

The children loved climbing the pepper trees behind their school during the summer.

The Brazilian pepper tree, admired for its glossy evergreen leaves and bright red fruits, has become extremely invasive in many tropical and subtropical regions.

A massive California pepper tree shaded the courtyard, its branches heavy with clusters of rosy pink peppercorns.

Local gardeners worry that Brazilian pepper trees are crowding out native plants along the riverbank.

California pepper trees shaded the sidewalk, their dangling clusters of pink peppercorns adding a spicy scent to the air.