Chili Pepper - Species and Cultivars

Species and Cultivars

The five domesticated species of chili peppers are:

• Capsicum annuum, which includes many common varieties such as bell peppers, wax, cayenne, jalapeños, and the chiltepin
• Capsicum frutescens, which includes malagueta, tabasco and Thai peppers, piri piri, African birdseye chili, Malawian Kambuzi
• Capsicum chinense, which includes the hottest peppers such as the naga, habanero, Datil and Scotch bonnet
• Capsicum pubescens, which includes the South American rocoto peppers
• Capsicum baccatum, which includes the South American aji peppers

Though there are only a few commonly used species, there are many cultivars and methods of preparing chili peppers that have different names for culinary use. Green and red bell peppers, for example, are the same cultivar of C. annuum, immature peppers being green. In the same species are the jalapeño, the poblano (which when dried is referred to as ancho), New Mexico (which is also known as chile colorado), Anaheim, serrano, and other cultivars.

Peppers are commonly broken down into three groupings: bell peppers, sweet peppers, and hot peppers. Most popular pepper varieties are seen as falling into one of these categories or as a cross between them.