NAME: Capsicum frutescens

FAMILY: Solanaceae

COMMON NAMES: Chili pepper,bird pepper

LOCAL NAMES: Ata wewe, ata-eiye, Ose mkpe, Taashi

MORPHORLOGICAL DESCRIPTION:

Capsicum frutescens is a short-lived perennial plant with height of 1-2m. The plant is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs).

USEFUL PART(s): seed, fruit, leaves

GENERAL USES:

Edible leave, fruit and seed
Flavor
potherb

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION:

India, Ethiopia

WHY IS IT GREEN?

Fevers
Dysentery
Stimulant
Carminative
Malaria
Ingredient of some herbal recipes.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

Although no reports have been seen for this species, many plants in this family produce toxins in their leaves. The sap of the plant can cause the skin to blister

FUN FACT

Although the growing plant repels insects, Birds are immune to the spice in hot peppers

FURTHER READINGS

Bosland, P. W., & Baral, J. B. (2007). “Bhut Jolokia” - The world’s hottest known chile pepper is a putative naturally occurring interspecific hybrid. HortScience. https://doi.org/10.21273/hortsci.42.2.222

Cichewicz, R. H., & Thorpe, P. A. (1996). The antimicrobial properties of chile peppers (Capsicum species) and their uses in Mayan medicine. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-8741(96)01384-0

Emmanuel-Ikpeme, C. (2014). Comparative Evaluation of the Nutritional, Phytochemical and Microbiological Quality of Three Pepper Varieties. Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfns.20140203.15

Koffi-Nevry, R., Kouassi, K. C., Nanga, Z. Y., Koussémon, M., & Loukou, G. Y. (2012). Antibacterial activity of two bell pepper extracts: Capsicum annuum L. and Capsicum frutescens. International Journal of Food Properties. https://doi.org/10.1080/10942912.2010.509896

Lim, T. K., & Lim, T. K. (2013). Capsicum frutescens. In Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5628-1_31