Pepper Tree
Pepper Tree, an evergreen tree with red, berrylike fruits, drooping branches, narrow leaflets, and clusters of small, yellowish-white flowers. Although the fruits are popularly called “peppercorns,” the tree is not related to the true peppers. The California pepper tree, native to Peru, is 20 to 50 feet (6 to 15 m) tall. It is widely grown in California for shade and ornament. The tree produces a resin called mastic and is sometimes called the Peruvian, or American, mastic tree. The smaller Brazilian pepper tree, or Christmasberry tree, is grown in Florida. The boughs are widely used to make Christinas wreaths.
The pepper tree belongs to the cashew, or sumac, family, Anacardiaceae. The California pepper tree is Schinus molle; Brazilian, S. terebinthifolius.