Capsicum () is a genus of flowering plants in the 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 species of Capsicum. Sweet or bell peppers and some chili peppers are Capsicum annuum, making it the most cultivated species in the genus.
History
Capsicum is native to South America and Central America. These plants have been evolving for 17 million years. It was domesticated and cultivated at least since 3000 BC, as evidenced by remains of chili peppers found in pottery from Puebla and Oaxaca.
Etymology and names
The generic name may come from Latin capsa, meaning 'box', presumably alluding to the pods; or possibly from the Greek word κάπτω, kapto, 'to gulp'. The name pepper comes from the similarity of piquance (spiciness or "heat") of the flavor to that of black pepper, Piper nigrum, although there is no botanical relationship with it or with Sichuan pepper. The original term chilli came from the Nahuatl word chīlli, denoting a larger Capsicum variety cultivated at least since 3000 BC. Different varieties were cultivated in South America, where they are known as ajíes (singular ají), from the Quechua term for Capsicum.
The fruit (botanically a berry) of Capsicum plants has a variety of names depending on place and type. The more piquant varieties are called chili peppers, or simply chilis. The large, mild form is called bell pepper, or is named by color (green pepper, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, etc.) in North America. In South Africa and some other countries, it is called sweet pepper. The name is simply pepper in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The name capsicum is used in Australia, India, Malaysia, Singapore and New Zealand.
Phylogeny
Capsicums are solanaceous plants within the tribe Capsiceae, and are closely related to Lycianthes.
A 2020 study using ribosomal DNA provided the following phylogenetic tree. It can be seen...
