CHAPTEE XI 



CAPSICUMS 



THE capsicums or chilies used as a spice, either dried, 

 pickled, or in the form of cayenne or red pepper, are the 

 fruits of one or more species of the genus Capsicum, 

 belonging to the order Solanaceae, and are originally 

 natives of Central and South America, but now spread 

 all over the warmer parts of the world. A considerable 

 number of species, about fifty, have been described 

 and named, but only three or four are of importance 

 as spices or condiments, and the separation of these 

 into species is not easy, as they are very closely allied 

 and the forms appear to hybridise readily. It is pos- 

 sible that the three or four forms commonly recognised 

 as separate species may be only cultivated forms of 

 one original wild plant. 



The three important species are : (1) Capsicum 

 minimum, Eoxb., bird pepper or bird's-eye pepper.; (2) 

 C. frutescens, L., chilies or capsicums; (3) C. grossum, 

 wild bell pepper or bull-nose pepper ; and of these there 

 are a considerable number of forms, differing in shape 

 and colour, of the pods cultivated in gardens in Europe 

 as well as in various parts of the tropics. 



1. Capsicum minimum, Koxb. Bird pepper, bird's- 

 eye pepper, bird's -beak pepper, mad pepper, Guinea 

 pepper. Syn. C. fastigiatum, Bl. 



A small, much -branched shrub, 2 or 3 ft. tall, 

 branches spreading, dichotomous, slender, flexuous, four- 

 angled, minutely puberulous. Leaves alternate, one 



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