Sohmrit refers to the black pepper which is commonly used as spice but Sohmrit Khlaw refers to the wild variety of pepper that is found in Meghalaya and Mikir Hills in Assam, India. Sohmrit is ‘pepper’ and khlaw is ‘wild’.
Scientifically, it is Piper Longum Linn. There are different species in other countries but P. Longum is native to North East India. It has tremendous medicinal properties whereby traditional healers of Meghalaya use the fruits and roots of this plant for the treatment of a variety of diseases especially respiratory infections, abdominal complaints, fever, urinary discharge, jaundice and also tumours and piles. However, with the large scale deforestation, traditional healers are facing problems in getting this plant. Thus many healers have started to plant this species in their own medicinal plant gardens.