Zippelia begoniifolia is the only species of the monotypic genus Zippelia, a genus of plants in the Piperaceae, the same botanical family as that of black pepper.

It is an erect, ascending, perennial herb with leaves of 6 to 12.5 cm (2.4 to 4.9 in) in length.

[3] It occurs in Borneo, Cambodia, southern-central and southeast mainland China as well as Hainan, Java, Laos, Peninsular Malaysia, the Philippines, Sumatra, Thailand and Vietnam.

Zippelius was a horticulturist and early collector of plants in Java and other islands of the region.

[4][5] The genus name Zippelia has a confused taxonomic history, also having been used to place the parasitic plants now classified in the genus Rhizanthes by Ludwig Reichenbach.