Capsicum Annuum

''Capsicum annuum'' is a species of the plant genus ''Capsicum'' native to southern North America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. 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 ''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, and paprika 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 as well as food in Africa.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 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

See also

* List of Capsicum cultivars
* Paprika
*Chili pepper

References

Further reading

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External links

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{{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