La lot is the glossy, heart-shaped leaf of Piper sarmentosum, a creeping perennial of the pepper family (Piperaceae) native to tropical and subtropical Asia. Aromatic and faintly peppery with a warm, herbal-sappy scent, it is best known in Vietnamese cooking as the wrapper for bò lá lốt — minced beef rolled in the leaf and grilled, where heat releases its distinctive fragrance.