''Capsicum annuum'' is a species of the plant genus '' Capsicum'' native to southern

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, the Caribbean, and northern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

. This species is the most common and extensively cultivated of the five domesticated capsicums. The species encompasses a wide variety of shapes and sizes of peppers, including sweet bell peppers and some chili pepper varieties such as jalapeños, New Mexico chile, and cayenne peppers. Cultivars descended from the wild American bird pepper are still found in warmer regions of the Americas. In the past, some woody forms of this species have been called '' C. frutescens'', but the features that were used to distinguish those forms appear in many populations of ''C. annuum'' and are not consistently recognizable features in ''C. frutescens'' species.

Characteristics

Although the species name ''annuum'' means 'annual' (from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

''annus'' "year"), the plant is not an annual but is frost tender. In the absence of winter frosts it can survive several seasons and grow into a large, shrubby perennial herb. The single flowers are an off-white (sometimes purplish) color while the stem is densely branched and up to tall. The fruits are peppers that may be green, yellow, orange or red when ripe. While the species can tolerate most frost-free climates, ''C. annuum'' is especially productive in warm and dry climates.

Pollination

While generally self-pollinating, insect visitation is known to increase the fruit size and speed of ripening, as well as to ensure symmetrical development. Pepper flowers have nectaries at the base of the corolla, which helps to attract pollinators. The anthers do not release pollen except via buzz pollination, such as provided by bumble bees.

Uses

Culinary

The species is a source of popular sweet peppers and hot chiles with numerous varieties cultivated all around the world, and is the source of popular spices such as cayenne,

chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

, and

paprika Paprika ( US , ; UK , ) is a spice made from dried and ground red peppers. It is traditionally made from ''Capsicum annuum'' varietals in the Longum group, which also includes chili peppers, but the peppers used for paprika tend to be milder an ...

powders, as well as pimiento (pimento). Common naming in English falls generally in line with the flavor and size of the variant. Larger, sweeter variants are called "capsicums" in Australia and New Zealand, "peppers" in the United Kingdom and Canada, and "bell peppers" in the United States. The smaller, hotter varieties are called chiles, chilies, chillies, chile, or chili peppers, or in parts of the US, "peppers". Capsinoid chemicals provide the distinctive tastes in ''C. annuum'' variants. In particular, capsaicin creates a burning sensation ("hotness"), which in extreme cases can last for several hours after ingestion. A measurement called the Scoville scale has been created to describe the hotness of peppers and other foods.

Traditional medicine

Hot peppers are used in

traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before th ...

as well as food in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

.Grubben, G.J.H. & Denton, O.A. (2004) ''Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables.'' PROTA Foundation, Wageningen; Backhuys, Leiden; CTA, Wageningen. English botanist

John Lindley John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist. Early years Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley w ...

described ''C. annuum'' in his 1838 ''Flora Medica'' thus: In Ayurveda, ''C. annuum'' is classified as follows: *''Guna'' (properties) – ''ruksha'' (dry), ''laghu'' (light) and ''tikshna'' (sharp) *'' Rasa'' (taste) – ''katu'' (pungent) *''Virya'' (potency) – ''ushna'' (hot)

Ornamental

Some cultivars grown specifically for their aesthetic value include the U.S. National Arboretum's 'Black Pearl' and the ' Bolivian Rainbow'. Ornamental varieties tend to have unusually colored fruit and foliage with colors such as black and purple being notable. All are edible, and most (like 'Royal Black') are hot.

Host plant

The potato tuber moth ('' Phthorimaea operculella'') is an oligophagous insect that prefers to feed on plants of the family Solanaceae such as pepper plants. Female ''P. operculella'' use the leaves to lay their eggs and the hatched larvae will eat away at the mesophyll of the leaf.

Gallery

File:Capsicum annum L. var. fasciculatum Irish.jpg, Capsicum annum L. var. fasciculatum Irish. File:朝天椒果實.jpg, Capsicum annum L. var. fasciculatum Irish. File:Capsicum annuum-Red Chilli Pepper 01.jpg, Dried ''Capsicum annuum'' Red Chilli Pepper File:Capsicum annuum.JPG, ''Capsicum annuum'' cultivars File:Capsicum annuum (Guajillo) - dried.jpg, Dried Guajillo chile pod File:RoyalEmbersFlower.JPG, Typical ''C. annuum'' flower, Royal Embers. File:Bolivian Rainbow fruits.JPG, Bolivian Rainbow with its fruits in different stages of ripeness. File:C.annuum-8.jpg, ''Capsicum annuum'' var. ''bola'' or ''ñora'' File:Capsicum annuum 'count dracula'.jpg, Count Dracula File:Dried Capsicum annuum-Red Chilli Pepper on Nanglo.jpg, Dried ''Capsicum annuum'' Red Chilli Pepper on Nanglo File:Capsicum annuum-Red Chilli Pepper 02.jpg, Dried ''Capsicum annuum'' Red Chilli Pepper File:Capsicum annuum 'numex memorial day'.jpg, NuMex Memorial Day File:Capsicum annuum 'explosive embers'.jpg, Explosive Embers Chili pepper seeds.jpg, Chili pepper 'subicho' seeds for planting File:Болгарский перец. Восточная Сибирь.jpg, Bell pepper in Eastern Siberia

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control annuum Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Medicinal plants of North America Medicinal plants of South America Plants used in Ayurveda Chili peppers