''Capsicum eximium'' is a member of the genus ''

Capsicum ''Capsicum'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the Solanum, nightshade family Solanaceae, native to the Americas, cultivated worldwide for their edible fruit, which are generally known as "peppers" or "capsicum". Chili peppers grow on five s ...

'' with 2n=2x=24, and native to the

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

, specifically the Andean region of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. It is one of the "purple-flowered" ''Capsicums'' along with ''

Capsicum cardenasii ''Capsicum cardenasii'' is a plant species in the genus ''Capsicum'' and the family Solanaceae. It is a diploid with 2n=2x=24. It is a member within the ''Capsicum pubescens, C. pubescens'' complex, a group of closely related ''Capsicum'' species ...

'' and '' Capsicum pubescens''. Like most other chili peppers, it is both pungent and self-compatible. It is a member of the ''Pubescens'' ''complex,'' a natural group of highly related ''Capsicums''. Natural hybrids between '' C. pubescens'' as well as '' C. tovarii'' have been found, further supporting the relationship of these species.

Plant description

''Capsicum eximium'' is identified by its distinctive purple flowers. The flowers have an entire calyx and bell-shaped corolla that come in various shades of purple. Mature fruit of ''C. eximium'' are small, shiny, non-pulpy berries. The seeds are yellow.

Uses

In Bolivia, where the plants occur naturally, ''C. eximium'' is used as a spice. Also, since it is a wild pepper species, it has been used extensively in

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...

studies to better understand the relationships of peppers and different gene models.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1035040 eximium