Cubebs are the dried unripe fruit of Cubeba officinalis, or Piper Cubeba, a native of Java and other East India isles, of the order Piperaceae. They resemble black pepper, and are globular, wrinkled, blackish-brown, with a warm, even acrid taste and peculiar odour. They have been used in medicine from the time of Hippocrates, and are still employed... Found on http://www.probertencyclopaedia.com/browse/BCA.HTM