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