50 Caper Bush Seeds (Capparis Spinosa) Use As Medical & Culinary Herb-perennial Caper plants (Capparis spinosa) are usually found growing wild in the Mediterranean in dry stony areas similar to those where olives are grown. Capers grow in viney brambles, much like blackberries do in North America. Cultivation of a caper bush is most often found in Spain and Africa, but in the past, Southern Russia was also an exporter.Growing capers are, as mentioned, the buds of a shrub-like perennial (3 to 5 feet high) which has a multitude of spiny branches bearing 2-inch white flowers with purple stamens. How To Grow Capers: Image by ellepistock What are capers and how are they used? Capers, unopened flower buds found on the caper bush, are the culinary darlings of many cuisines. Capers can be found in European foods and in those of Africa and India as well, where cultivation of growing capers is found. Growing a caper bush, however, is not an easy task. So how are capers used? The tiny buds of the caper bush, or Capparis spinosa, are picked on a daily basis and then pickled in vinegar or otherwise brined in salt. The resulting flavor of the caper berry is strong and distinctlike that of mustard and black pepperdue to its concentration of mustard oil, which is released when the plant tissue is crushed. This piquant flavor and aroma lends itself well to a variety of sauces, pizza, fish meats and salads. The immature leaves growing on a caper bush may even be eaten as a cooked vegetable and the burnt remnants of the growing caper bush roots have been utilized as a salt substitute. Caper fruits (caperberry, capperone, or taperone) may be used in making caper-flavored sauces, or sometimes pickled for eating like small gherkins. A caper bush also has medicinal uses. Growing capers may be harvested to aid in eliminating flatulence, improving liver function, or for its anti-rheumatic effects. An age-old remedy, growing capers have also been reputed to be useful in treating arteriosclerosis, kidney ailments, diuretics, anemia, arthritis, gout and dropsy.