Capsicum - Species and Varieties

Species and Varieties

Capsicum consists of approximately 20–27 species, five of which are domesticated: C. annuum, C. baccatum, C. chinense, C. frutescens, and C. pubescens . Phylogenetic relationships between species were investigated using biogeographical, morphological, chemosystematic, hybridization, and genetic data. Fruits of Capsicum can vary tremendously in colour, shape, and size both between and within species, which has led to confusion over the relationships between taxa. Chemosystematic studies helped distinguish the difference between varieties and species. For example, C. baccatum var. baccatum had the same flavonoids as C. baccatum var. pendulum, which led researchers to believe that the two groups belonged to the same species.

Many varieties of the same species can be used in many different ways; for example, C. annuum includes the "bell pepper" variety, which is sold in both its immature green state and its red, yellow or orange ripe state. This same species has other varieties as well, such as the Anaheim chiles often used for stuffing, the dried ancho chile used to make chili powder, the mild-to-hot jalapeño, and the smoked, ripe jalapeño, known as a chipotle.

Most of the capsaicin in a pungent (hot) pepper is concentrated in blisters on the epidermis of the interior ribs (septa) that divide the chambers of the fruit to which the seeds are attached. A study on capsaicin production in fruits of C. chinense showed that capsaicinoids are produced only in the epidermal cells of the interlocular septa of pungent fruits, that blister formation only occurs as a result of capsaicinoid accumulation, and that pungency and blister formation are controlled by a single locus, Pun1, for which there exist at least two recessive alleles that result in non-pungency of C. chinense fruits.

The amount of capsaicin in hot peppers varies significantly between varieties, and is measured in Scoville heat units (SHU). The world's current hottest known pepper as rated in SHU is the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion, which has been measured at over 2,009,231 SHU.