''Capsicum rhomboideum'' is a perennial member of the genus ''

Capsicum ''Capsicum'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae, native to the Americas, cultivated worldwide for their chili pepper or bell pepper fruit. Etymology and names The generic name may come from Latin , me ...

'' with 2n=2x=26, and is considered a distant wild relative of the

chili pepper Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...

. Its fruit do not have any pungency, and are a 0 on the

Scoville Heat Unit The Scoville scale is a measurement of the pungency (spiciness or "heat") of chili peppers, as recorded in Scoville heat units (SHU), based on the concentration of Capsaicin#Capsaicinoids, capsaicinoids, among which capsaicin is the predominan ...

scale. It gets its name from the rhomboidal to elliptical shape of its leaves. It is native to Mexico, Central America, and Andean region of South America.

Plant description

''Capsicum rhomboideum'' is typically a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

shrub. It is densely covered in

trichome Trichomes (); ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a p ...

s, making it pubescent. It is best identified by its rhomboidal to elliptically-shaped leaves. The flowers have a five-toothed calyx and yellow bell-shaped corolla. The pollen grains are extremely small, 15 μm. Mature fruit of ''C. rhomboideum'' are pea-shaped and sized, bright red to black when fresh, and they darken as they dry. They typically bear 2-6 seed per fruit. The seeds are brown.

Genome

The genome of ''C. rhomboideum'' is smaller than that of '' C. annuum.'' In the specific differentiation, C. rhomboideum likely underwent genome size reduction. Approximately 5% of the genome is

heterochromatic Heterochromia is a variation in coloration. The term is most often used to describe color differences of the iris, but can also be applied to color variation of hair or skin. Heterochromia is determined by the production, delivery, and concentra ...

. The typical Capsicum has 2n=24, and since 2n=26 in ''C. rhomboideum ,'' causing it to be reclassified from ''Capsicum ciliatum'' in 2001.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15540252 rhomboideum