Caperbushes are mainly used by humans for their fruit, which are rich in
micronutrients.
C. spinosa, simply known as
caper, yields fruit and more importantly flower buds, which are widely used
pickled as a vegetable
condiment. The flower bud has been used since antiquity, and many classical authors indicate that the berry or small white blossom was commonly used as an aphrodisiac and a condiment. The plant is known in classical
Hebrew as אֲבִיּוֹנָה, a word that appears in one verse of Scripture (
Ecclesiastes 12:5). The fruit of other
species, such as
karir (
C. decidua), are also used for cooking;
C. mitchellii and the
Wild passionfruit (the local
subspecies of
C. spinosa) are well-known
bush tucker in
Australia.
Mabinlang seeds (
C. masaikai) are eaten as sweets. Mabinlang is also used in
Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Aspalathos, the root of a shrub contained for example in the sacred
Ancient Egyptian
incense kp.t (
kyphi), is sometimes considered to be
C. spinosa. Other species have also recorded uses in
herbalism and
folk medicine; dedicated research is largely lacking however.
Mabinlins are sweet-tasting
proteins found in Mabinlang seed (and possibly in other
Capparis species); at least one of them is highly resistant to heat. The market for mabinlins is not large, but this is mainly due to insufficient supply rather than to lack of demand. The 1889 book
The Useful Native Plants of Australia records that
Capparis canescens was also referred to as "Mondoleu" by the indigenous people from Rockhampton area of Queensland and that "The fruit is pyriform and half an inch in diameter. It is eaten by the aborigines without any preparation." (Thozet.) Mr. P. O'Shanesy observes that the pulpy part in which these Australian species of
Capparis are imbedded is a good substitute for mustard." Caperbushes from
arid regions - chiefly
C. decidua - are highly useful in
landscape gardening,
afforestation and
reforestation. They can stop
soil erosion and preserve agricultural land. Any large-flowered species can be used to attract
butterflies. The Crimson Rose (
Atrophaneura hector), a spectacular
swallowtail butterfly of
South Asia, likes to visit flowers of
C. spinosa in the winter months for example. '' fruit and seeds. The fruit and seeds of caperbushes are relished by many
birds and other animals such as
spiny-tailed lizards.
Capparis plants are highly important as food for certain
Lepidoptera caterpillars, many of them being
Pierinae: •
Appias lyncida (chocolate albatross) - recorded on
C. heyneana and
C. roxburghii. •
Astraptes fulgerator (two-barred flasher) - recorded on
C. frondosa. •
Belenois aurota (caper white or pioneer) - recorded on
C. zeylanica. •
Cepora nerissa (common gull) - mainly on
C. zeylanica. •
Hebomoia glaucippe (great orangetip) - recorded on
C. monii,
C. roxburghii and
C. sepiaria. •
Ixias marianne (white orangetip) - recorded on
C. grandis, C. sepiaria, C. decidua, and C. divaricata. •
Leptosia nina (psyche) - recorded on
C. zeylanica and others. •
Pareronia ceylanica (dark wanderer) - recorded on
C. heydeana,
C. rheedii •
Pareronia valeria (common wanderer) - recorded on
C. zeylanica, C. rheedii,
C. heydeana The
plant pathogenic
ascomycete fungus Mycosphaerella capparis was described from a caperbush. Some species of
Capparis are becoming rare, mainly due to
habitat destruction, and a few are seriously threatened with
extinction. ==Species==