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Capsicum annuum L.

Cayenne pepper (en), Piment (fr), Piment doux (fr), Piment annuel (fr), Piment ornemental (fr)

Species

Angiosperms > Solanales > Solanaceae > Capsicum

Characteristics

Shrubs or annual or perennial herbs, 20-80 cm tall. Stems glabrescent. Leaves solitary or paired; petiole 4-7 cm; leaf blade oblong-ovate, ovate, or ovate-lanceolate, 4-13 × 1.5-4 cm, glabrescent, base narrowed, margin entire, apex short acuminate or acute. Inflorescences solitary flowers or few-flowered clusters. Pedicel bent at apex, 1-2 cm. Calyx cup-shaped, undulate, 2-3 × 3 mm. Corolla white, ca. 1 cm. Anthers purplish, 1.8-2 mm. Berry mostly red (orange, yellow, or purple in cultivation), variously shaped, up to 15 cm. Seeds pale yellow, discoid or reniform, 3-5 mm. Fl. May-Aug, fr. Jul-Nov.
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An annual plant up to 1.5 m high. The leaves can be long and sword shaped or oval to rounded. The leaves can be 12 cm long. The flowers are produced singly, and are yellow or white. They are bell shaped. The flowers are 1.5 cm across and in the axils of leaves. Fruit are about 10 cm long and 6 cm wide and red when fully ripe. They are hollow. They contain many seeds. Kinds with different shaped fruit also occur.
Stout herb 2-5 ft. high, much branched, angular, glabrous stems
Flowers white or greenish
Cultivated.
Fruits red
Life form perennial
Growth form
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination
Spread -
Mature width (meter) 0.1 - 0.5
Mature height (meter) 0.5 - 1.0
Root system fibrous-root
Rooting depth (meter) 1.5
Root diameter (meter) 0.5
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color
Fruiting months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

A tropical or subtropical plant. Plants grow from sea level up to about 2400 m altitude. They are killed by frost. Soils need to be well drained and fertile. The fruit and plants can rot in the middle of the wettest seasons. They need a temperature above 4°C. A night temperature of 16-18°C and a day temperature of 26-28°C is best. A pH of 5.4-6.9 is suitable. They suit plant hardiness zones 8-12.
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Not known in the wild.
Not known in the wild.
Light 7-9
Soil humidity 3-7
Soil texture 2-5
Soil acidity 2-7
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

The fruit are edible raw or cooked. They are stuffed, roasted, fried, preserved and use as flavouring. The leaves are edible cooked.
Uses environmental use food gene source material medicinal poison seasoning social use spice
Edible flowers fruits leaves seeds
Therapeutic use Dyspnea (bark), Gonorrhea (bark), Jaundice (bark), Antiviral agents (bulb), Alcoholic gastritis (fruit), Abdominal pain (fruit), Anorexia (fruit), Antifungal agents (fruit), Anti-infective agents (fruit), Antioxidants (fruit), Antirheumatic agents (fruit), Antiviral agents (fruit), Appetite stimulants (fruit), Back pain (fruit), Bile acids and salts (fruit), Bites and stings (fruit), Capillary permeability (fruit), Chest pain (fruit), Cholera (fruit), Common cold (fruit), Condiments (fruit), Cough (fruit), Diarrhea (fruit), Digestive system diseases (fruit), Diuretics (fruit), Dyspepsia (fruit), Eye diseases (fruit), Fever (fruit), Flatulence (fruit), Gastrointestinal agents (fruit), Gastrointestinal diseases (fruit), Hemorrhoids (fruit), Hemostasis (fruit), Hyperglycemia (fruit), Hypoglycemic agents (fruit), Inflammation (fruit), Insecticides (fruit), Intestinal diseases (fruit), Counterirritant (fruit), Jaundice (fruit), Kidney calculi (fruit), Labor pain (fruit), Liver diseases (fruit), Low back pain (fruit), Mental disorders (fruit), Myocardial infarction (fruit), Neuralgia (fruit), Alcoholic fatty liver (fruit), Pharyngitis (fruit), Radiation-protective agents (fruit), General tonic for rejuvenation (fruit), Scorpion stings (fruit), Seizures (fruit), Snake bites (fruit), Stomach diseases (fruit), Tonsillitis (fruit), Toothache (fruit), Varicose veins (fruit), Wound healing (fruit), Yellow fever (fruit), Scarlet fever (fruit), Rheumatoid arthritis (fruit), Anthelmintics (leaf), Anti-bacterial agents (leaf), Antineoplastic agents (leaf), Antiviral agents (leaf), Bites and stings (leaf), Bronchitis (leaf), Diuretics (leaf), Dyspnea (leaf), Dysuria (leaf), Ear diseases (leaf), Eye diseases (leaf), Furunculosis (leaf), Gonorrhea (leaf), Headache (leaf), Heart diseases (leaf), Inflammation (leaf), Kidney calculi (leaf), Lymphadenitis (leaf), Neoplasms (leaf), Night blindness (leaf), Pain (leaf), Paralysis (leaf), Pharyngitis (leaf), Tuberculosis (leaf), Wounds and injuries (leaf), Hyperlipidemias (plant exudate), Antiviral agents (rhizome), Anemia, hemolytic (seed), Anti-bacterial agents (seed), Abdominal pain (shoot), Diuretics (stem), Kidney calculi (stem), Cold Remedy (unspecified), Febrifuge (unspecified), Gastrointestinal Aid (unspecified), Poultice (unspecified), Stimulant (unspecified), Gynecological Aid (unspecified), Pediatric Aid (unspecified), Aphrodisiac (unspecified), Ciguatera (unspecified), Diaphoretic (unspecified), Dyspepsia (unspecified), Neuralgia (unspecified), Pharyngitis (unspecified), Rheumatism (unspecified), Rubefacient (unspecified), Scrofula (unspecified), Sore (unspecified), Spice (unspecified), Stomachic (unspecified), Asthma (unspecified), Carminative (unspecified), CNS stimulant (unspecified), Digestive (unspecified), Gonorrhea (unspecified), Lumbago (unspecified), Skin (unspecified), Styptic (unspecified), Tonic (unspecified), Anemia, hemolytic (unspecified), Anorexia (unspecified), Antifungal agents (unspecified), Anti-inflammatory agents (unspecified), Antioxidants (unspecified), Antipyretics (unspecified), Antirheumatic agents (unspecified), Appetite stimulants (unspecified), Arthritis (unspecified), Bronchitis (unspecified), Cardiotonic agents (unspecified), Chest pain (unspecified), Cholera (unspecified), Cholinergic antagonists (unspecified), Common cold (unspecified), Cough (unspecified), Diabetes mellitus (unspecified), Diarrhea (unspecified), Diet, food, and nutrition (unspecified), Digestive system diseases (unspecified), Diuretics (unspecified), Dysentery (unspecified), Dysuria (unspecified), Earache (unspecified), Edema (unspecified), Expectorants (unspecified), Fever (unspecified), Filariasis (unspecified), Flatulence (unspecified), Gastrointestinal diseases (unspecified), Gout (unspecified), Headache (unspecified), Heart diseases (unspecified), Heat stroke (unspecified), Hoarseness (unspecified), Hypercholesterolemia (unspecified), Hyperlipidemias (unspecified), Hypnotics and sedatives (unspecified), Hypohidrosis (unspecified), Inflammation (unspecified), Insecticides (unspecified), Counterirritant (unspecified), Laxatives (unspecified), Low back pain (unspecified), Lymphadenitis (unspecified), Malaria (unspecified), Neoplasms (unspecified), Night blindness (unspecified), Pain (unspecified), General tonic for rejuvenation (unspecified), Scalp dermatoses (unspecified), Sciatica (unspecified), Tonsillitis (unspecified), Ulcer (unspecified), Wounds and injuries (unspecified), Yellow fever (unspecified), Reduced salivation (unspecified)
Human toxicity skin-irritating (fruit)
Animal toxicity strong toxic (fruit)

Cultivation

Plants are grown from seed. Both self and cross pollination occur. It is possible to save your own seed. Seed will keep for 2 to 3 years. Seeds germinate in 6-10 days. Plants can be transplanted. Plants need to be about 50 cm apart. About 50% of flowers set fruit.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) 7 - 14
Germination temperacture (C°) 22
Germination luminosity light
Germination treatment soaking
Minimum temperature (C°) 1
Optimum temperature (C°) 17 - 30
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Habit

Capsicum annuum habit picture by Nelson Zamora Villalobos (cc-by-nc)
Capsicum annuum habit picture by Shehadi Ramiz (cc-by-sa)
Capsicum annuum habit picture by mitsu yoshi (cc-by-sa)

Leaf

Capsicum annuum leaf picture by Angelos (cc-by-sa)
Capsicum annuum leaf picture by Sheena Merkur (cc-by-sa)
Capsicum annuum leaf picture by Hidalgo Daniel (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Capsicum annuum flower picture by Andreas Schnederle-Wagner (cc-by-sa)
Capsicum annuum flower picture by Nelson Zamora Villalobos (cc-by-nc)
Capsicum annuum flower picture by Nelson Zamora Villalobos (cc-by-nc)

Fruit

Capsicum annuum fruit picture by El Chloro (cc-by-sa)
Capsicum annuum fruit picture by Hidalgo Daniel (cc-by-sa)
Capsicum annuum fruit picture by Alois Eder (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Capsicum annuum world distribution map, present in Anguilla, American Samoa, Australia, Benin, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, Burkina Faso, Bangladesh, Bahamas, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belize, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil, Barbados, Bhutan, Botswana, Central African Republic, China, Cameroon, Congo, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cayman Islands, Djibouti, Dominica, Algeria, Ecuador, Fiji, Micronesia (Federated States of), Gabon, Guinea, Guadeloupe, Equatorial Guinea, Grenada, French Guiana, Guam, Guyana, Honduras, Croatia, Indonesia, India, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Cambodia, Kiribati, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Liberia, Saint Lucia, Sri Lanka, Morocco, Madagascar, Mexico, Marshall Islands, Mali, Myanmar, Northern Mariana Islands, Mozambique, Montserrat, Martinique, Mauritius, Nicaragua, Nepal, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Korea (Democratic People's Republic of), Portugal, Réunion, Russian Federation, Sao Tome and Principe, Slovakia, Chad, Togo, Thailand, Tajikistan, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Taiwan, Province of China, Tanzania, United Republic of, Uganda, United States Minor Outlying Islands, United States of America, Uzbekistan, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), Viet Nam, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe

Conservation status

Capsicum annuum threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:814720-1
WFO ID wfo-0001019982
COL ID QT4R
BDTFX ID 12801
INPN ID 87873
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Capsicum abyssinicum Capsicum annuum Capsicum axi Capsicum petenense Capsicum silvestre Capsicum grossum Capsicum cerasiforme Capsicum longum Capsicum annuum var. aviculare (dierb.) d'arcy Capsicum annuum var. annuum Capsicum annuum f. annuum Capsicum annuum

Lower taxons

Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum
WorldFloraDB 2024