Which plant gives the spice black pepper, from its dried unripe fruits?

Piper nigrum is the flowering vine that produces black pepper.

Black pepper comes from the dried, unripe fruits of Piper nigrum, a climbing plant native to the Indian subcontinent. The fruits grow in dense spikes called drupes or peppercorns. Drying the harvested green fruits darkens and wrinkles their outer layers.

The same species produces several familiar pepper products. Fully ripe fruits can be processed into white pepper after their outer coating is removed, while green pepper is made from unripe fruits preserved or dried by different methods. Pink peppercorns come from unrelated plants.

Piper nigrum spread through historic trade routes from India into Southeast Asia and beyond. Its pungency mainly comes from piperine, an alkaloid distinct from the capsaicin in chilli peppers.