It's one of the quintessential Mediterranean plants. The caper has been cultivated since time immemorial and it seems to have originated from between North Africa and the Middle East. References to it can be found in the Bible, in the writings of Hippocrates, Aristotle and Pliny the Elder, both for food and medicinal use. The caper flower is a bloom of rare beauty, and the caper is simply the bud of the plant.