Piper nigrum, a flowering vine of Piperaceae, is cultivated for its fruit and is usually dried for spices and seasonings. The dried fruit is called prickly ash. When fresh and fully mature, it measures about 5 mm (0.20 in) in diameter, is crimson, and, like all drupes, contains one seed. Pepper and derived pepper can be simply described as pepper, or more accurately as black pepper (boiled and dried immature fruits), green pepper (dried immature fruits) and white pepper (mature fruit seeds).

Black pepper is native to southern India and is widely grown there and elsewhere in the tropics. At present, Vietnam is the world's largest pepper producer and exporter. As of 2013, Vietnam's pepper production accounted for 34% of the world's pepper production.

Dried pepper has been used as its flavor and traditional medicine since ancient times. Black pepper is the most traded spice in the world. It is one of the most common spices added to food around the world. The pungency of black pepper comes from the chemical piperine. Please do not confuse with the capsaicin characteristics of pepper. Black pepper, as a modern seasoning, is ubiquitous and often goes with salt.