Capsicum chinense

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Capsicum chinense
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Subclass: Asteridae Order: Solanales Family: Solanaceae Genus: Capsicum Species: C. chinense
Binomial name
Capsicum chinense Jacq.

Capsicum chinense is a species of chile peppers that includes the following varieties:

• Adjuma (Suriname)
• Ají dulce (Venezuela)
• Datil (Florida)
• Fatalii (South central Africa)
• Habanero chile (Cuba and Yucatán)
  • Habanero cultivar Red Savina pepper
• Madame Jeanette (Haiti)
• Naga Morich (Bangladesh)
  • Naga Morich cultivar Dorset Naga pepper
• Naga Jolokia pepper (NE India: Assam, Nagaland, Manipur)
• Scotch bonnet (Jamaica)

Capsicum chinense or "Chinese capsicum" is a misnomer since all capsica originate in the New World. Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin (1727-1817), an Austrian botanist, erroneously named the species in 1776, because he believed that they originated in China.^[1]

[edit] Notes and references

1. ^ Bosland, P.W. 1996. Capsicums: Innovative uses of an ancient crop. p. 479-487. In: J. Janick (ed.), Progress in new crops. ASHS Press, Arlington, VA.