Capparis inermis – Capers

Beautiful and perennial suffrutticosa plant that grows wild on old walls and rocks along the Mediterranean coast. During the cold season we don’t even notice it, on the contrary it could seem that those bare and woody branches, are there to indicate that the plant must be removed, but in spring it surprises us with its high vegetative abundance. It has deep glossy green and round leaves, long branches from which emerge the small capers, big white and purple, slightly fragrant flowers, with scalar blooming from May to late September. It surprises us becoming a valid ornamental plant with a pendant poise. The small buds (the famous capers), if collected, are preserved in brine and they are widely used in cooking.

Cultivation of caper

It is surely a difficult species to cultivate, not because it’s exigent, but because to breed it you must recreate its natural habitat. After the engraftment phase it requires no special care. It is considered almost as an aromatic plant, but with totally different issues during cultivation in nurseries.