Capsicum flexuosum
Capsicum flexuosum at flowering
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Solanales
Family: Solanaceae
Genus: Capsicum
Species:
C. flexuosum
Binomial name
Capsicum flexuosum
Hunz

Capsicum flexuosum is a member of the genus Capsicum, and is native to the New World, specifically the southern regions of Brazil. Unlike most other chili peppers, it is only mildly pungent and has issues with self-compatibility.[1][2]

Plant description

Capsicum flexuosum is identified by its distinctive white, green, and sometimes purple flowers. The flowers have an entire calyx and campanulate corolla that come in various color varieties, but are generally green toward the center changing to white at the petal edges . Mature fruit of C. flexuosum are tiny berries with a bullet shape about 7 mm long that ripen to red. It is propagated by seed.[3] It has a somatic chromosome number of 2n=2x=24.[1]

Uses

In Brazil, where the plants occur naturally, C. flexusoum is sometimes used as a spice.[1] Also, since it is a wild pepper species, it has been used extensively in phylogenetic studies to better understand the relationships of peppers and different gene models. This species has also been used as a "bridge species"[citation needed] to cross more distantly related Capsicum species to those more related to domesticated cultivars.

References

  1. ^ a b c Tewksbury, Joshua J.; Manchego, Carlos; Haak, David C.; Levey, Douglas J. (2006-03-30). "Where did the Chili Get its Spice? Biogeography of Capsaicinoid Production in Ancestral Wild Chili Species". Journal of Chemical Ecology. 32 (3): 547–564. doi:10.1007/s10886-005-9017-4. ISSN 0098-0331. PMID 16572297.
  2. ^ Onus, A. Naci; Pickersgill, Barbara (2004-08-01). "Unilateral Incompatibility in Capsicum (Solanaceae): Occurrence and Taxonomic Distribution". Annals of Botany. 94 (2): 289–295. doi:10.1093/aob/mch139. ISSN 0305-7364. PMC 4242164. PMID 15229125.
  3. ^ Heiser, Charles B.; Smith, Paul G. (1958-10-01). "New species of Capsicum from South America". Brittonia. 10 (4): 194–201. doi:10.2307/2804950. ISSN 0007-196X. JSTOR 2804950.
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