ABSTRACT
Capsicum annuum is native to the tropical Americas and widely cultivated throughout the tropics and elsewhere (Rosengarten, 1969). There is confusion regarding the classification of Capsicum species. Currently, all varieties of mild and hot peppers (not to be confused with black and white pepper derived from Piper nigrum and related species) are considered as the fruits of a single species, C. annuum and its many varieties, or of two species, C. annuum and C. frutescens. Current practice is to classify the pungent varieties of pepper (chile peppers or cayenne peppers) as C. frutescens, and the milder-flavored sweet peppers (bell peppers, sweet peppers, green peppers) as varieties of C. annuum (Vaughan and Geissler, 1997); however, most botanists agree that they should properly be regarded as varieties of a single species (Rosengarten, 1969). Bell peppers are mild in flavor, whereas “paprikas” are slightly pungent or mild and “cayennes” or “chilies” are the hot cultivars (Vaughan and Geissler, 1997).
