Cubeb is small, red-brown irregular seeds of a Cardamom-like plant. The plant is a tropical, climbing perennial vine with a round gray stem. The leaves are smooth and ovate with a pointed tip. The flowers, small and white, are arranged in spikes, which later develop into an aggregate of berries along the central axis. The seeds are enclosed in a brown wrinkled, fig-shaped dried capsule.
Cubeb can be used in spice mixtures such as quatre-épices for flavoring pates, sausages, gingerbreads and spiced biscuits. Cubeb Oil, pale yellow liquid, is carminative, diuretic, stimulant and antiseptic.
