Capparis spinosa Seeds | Caper

Caper seeds (Capparis spinosa)

LATIN NAME: Capparis spinosa

COMMON NAME: Caper

Plant Profile

Known to gardeners as Caper, Capparis spinosa is a noteworthy species. During flowering it gives bees and other insects a dependable food source. For the gardener, the sum of these traits is a plant that is easy to live with.

Science & Biotechnology

The species features in the wider study of the Capparis group, and its traits make it a useful subject for work on germination biology, cultivation and ornamental selection. Its flower buds have also been studied for their rutin and other flavonoid content, compounds relevant to traditional and modern nutritional interest in this small but culinarily significant crop. Centuries of cultivation have left a detailed record of how it grows and behaves.

Uses & Benefits

Caper brings genuine presence to the garden and earns its keep across the growing season. Caper’s pickled flower buds are an essential ingredient across Mediterranean cuisine, adding a distinctive briny, tangy pop of flavour to sauces, salads and countless classic dishes, from puttanesca to tartare sauce. Its tolerance of poor, dry, rocky soil also makes it a genuinely useful ornamental choice for challenging garden sites, such as dry stone walls or rubble-strewn slopes, where few other productive plants would survive. Beyond the establishment year, its needs are simple and few.

Capers are the pickled flower buds of this Mediterranean shrub, and the root bark has a long folk record in liver and joint remedies; the buds are rich in the antioxidant quercetin.

Growing from Seed

Sow fresh seed of Caper under ordinary good conditions. A period of cold, moist stratification helps seed germinate evenly, after which it should be sown into a loose, gritty, extremely well-drained mix reflecting its native rocky habitat. Full sun suits this drought-tolerant Mediterranean species well, and once established it tolerates genuinely poor, dry conditions that would challenge most other productive garden plants. Sow evenly over the surface and cover lightly into a loose, well-drained seed compost, water in gently, and keep the sowing in full sun with steady moisture. Prick the seedlings out once they are large enough to handle, grow them on in bright light, and plant out when conditions allow.

Our Take

Caper has real presence in the garden without demanding much in return. Attention to moisture in the first weeks pays off; later, the plant is forgiving.

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