Other conspecific taxa:

• Capsicum annuum (68 accessions)
• Capsicum annuum var. annuum (0 accessions)

Synonyms:

• (=) Capsicum annuum var. aviculare auct.
• (=) Capsicum annuum var. minimum (Mill.) Heiser
• Basionym: Capsicum hispidum var. glabriusculum Dunal
• (=) Capsicum microphyllum Dunal

Common names:

• American bird pepper  (Source: F Panama) - English
• bird pepper  (Source: Baileya) - English
• turkey pepper  (Source: Native Pl Database) - English
• ají  (Source: F PuertoR) - Spanish
• chile pequin  (Source: Native Pl Database) - Spanish
• chilipiquin  (Source: Baileya) - Spanish
• chiltepe  (Source: F Guat) - Spanish
• chiltepin  (Source: Ariz SonorDes Mus) - Spanish
• piquin  (Source: Herbs Commerce ed2) - Spanish
• chiltepinpeppar  (Source: Kulturvaxtdatabas) - Swedish

Economic Importance:

• Food additives: flavoring (fide Eshbaugh in J. Janick & J. E. Simmon 137. 1993, as C. annuum var. aviculare)
• Gene sources: primary genetic relative of bell/chili pepper (fide Phytologia 47:156. 1980)
• Gene sources: primary genetic relative of habanero pepper (based on records of fertile hybrids with Capsicum frutescens, a closely related species, fide Int J Pl Sci 162:1411. 2001)
• Gene sources: primary genetic relative of Tabasco pepper (based on records of fertile hybrids with Capsicum frutescens fide Int J Pl Sci 162:1411. 2001)
• Gene sources: progenitor of bell/chili pepper (fide Amer J Bot 96:1200. 2009)
• Gene sources: secondary genetic relative of aji (based on hybrid pollen viability values of F1 hybrids with Capsicum baccatum var. pendulum fide Crop Breed Appl Biot 11:246, 247. 2011)
• Gene sources: tertiary genetic relative of rocoto (based on crossing barriers of Capsicum annuum with Capsicum pubescens fide HortScience 26:585. 1991)
• Medicines: folklore (fide Herbs Commerce ed2)

Distributional Range:

Native

Northern America

• SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Florida, Georgia (e.), Louisiana]
• SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [Texas]
• SOUTHWESTERN U.S.A.: United States [Arizona (s.)]
• NORTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Baja Sur, Chihuahua, Nuevo Leon, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas]
• SOUTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Campeche, Chiapas, Guerrero, Jalisco, Michoacan, Morelos, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Queretaro, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Veracruz, Yucatan]

Southern America

• CARIBBEAN: Anguilla, Bahamas, Barbados, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenadines
• CENTRAL AMERICA: Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama
• WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Colombia


Naturalized (natzd. elsewhere)

References:

1. Adams, C. Flowering plants of Jamaica. 1972 (F Jam)
2. Aguilar-Meléndez, A. et al. 2009. Genetic diversity and structure in semiwild and domesticated chiles (Capsicum annuum; Solanaceae) from Mexico Amer. J. Bot. 96:1190-1202.
3. Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource on www.skud.info). 2012 (Kulturvaxtdatabas)
4. ASDM Sonoran Desert Digital Library Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum digital library (on-line resource). (Ariz SonorDes Mus)
5. Balick, M. J. et al. Checklist of the vascular plants of Belize, with common names and uses. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 85. 2000 (L Belize NY)
6. Eshbaugh, W. H. 1980. The taxonomy of the genus Capsicum (Solanaceae) - 1980 (Phytologia) 47:156.
7. Eshbaugh, W. H. 1993. Peppers: history and exploitation of a serendipitous new crop discovery (New Crops) 132-139.
8. Gómez-Pompa, A. & V. Sosa, eds. Flora de Veracruz. 1978- (F Veracruz)
9. González-Jara, P. et al. 2011. Impact of human management on the genetic variation of wild pepper, Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum (PloS One) 6(12):e28715.
10. Heiser, C. B., Jr. & B. Pickersgill 1975. Names for the bird peppers (Capsicum - Solanaceae) (Baileya) 19:151-156.
11. Hernández-Verdugo, S. et al. 2012. Caracterización y variación ecogeográfica de poblaciones de chile (Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum silvestre del noroeste de México (Polibotanica) 33:175-191.
12. Howard, R. Flora of the lesser Antilles. 1974-1989 (F LAnt)
13. Kearney, T. H. & R. H. Peebles Arizona flora, ed. 2. (F Ariz)
14. Kraft, K. H. et al. 2013. A new collection of wild populations of Capsicum in Mexico and the southern United States Genet. Resources Crop Evol. 60:225-232.
15. Liogier, H. A. Descriptive flora of Puerto Rico and adjacent islands. 1984- (F PuertoR)
16. Loaiza-Figueroa, F. et al. 1989. Patterns of genetic variation of the genus Capsicum (Solanaceae) in Mexico Pl. Syst. Evol. 165:159-188.
17. McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker Herbs of commerce, ed. 2. 2000 (Herbs Commerce ed2)
18. Monteiro da Silva, C. E. et al. 2011. Reproductive characterization of interspecific hybrids among Capsicum species Crop Breed. Appl. Biotechnol. 11:241-249.
19. NatureServe NatureServe Explorer: an online encyclopedia of life (on-line resource). 2009- (NatureServe)
20. Proctor, G. R. Flora of the Cayman Islands. Kew Bulletin Additional Series XI. (F Cayman)
21. Standley, P. C. & J. A. Steyermark Flora of Guatemala. 1946-1976 (F Guat)
22. Turner, B. L. et al. Atlas of the vascular plants of Texas. Sida Botanical Miscellany no. 24. 2003 (Atlas Tex)
23. University of Texas at Austin, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Native Plant Information Network database (on-line resource). (Native Pl Database)
24. Walsh, B. M. & S. B. Hoot 2001. Phylogenetic relationships of Capsicum (Solanaceae) using DNA sequences from two noncoding regions: The chloroplast atpB-rbcL spacer region and nuclear waxy introns Int. J. Pl. Sci. 162:1409-1418.
25. Weakley, A. S. Flora of the Carolinas, Virginia, and Georgia, and surrounding areas. (F Carol Virg Georg)
26. Woodson, R. E. & R. W. Schery, eds. Flora of Panama. 1943-1980 (F Panama)
27. Wunderlin, R. & B. Hansen Atlas of Florida vascular plants (on-line resource). (Atlas Florida)
28. Zijlstra, S. et al. 1991. Pollen tube growth in interspecific crosses between Capsicum species (HortScience) 26:585-586.

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN-Taxonomy).
National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. URL: http://germoplasma.iniaf.gob.bo/gringlobal/taxonomydetail.aspx?id=102342. Accessed 7 junio 2026.