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Chile Peppers (Capsicum spp.)

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Ethnobotany of Mexico

Part of the book series: Ethnobiology ((EBL))

Abstract

Most Mexican chiles belong to the species Capsicum annuum. Domesticated types of C. annuum are derived from wild chile piquin, currently suffering genetic erosion as a result of habitat loss and over-exploitation. It is consequently now difficult to determine where or how often C. annuum was domesticated. The only trait consistently distinguishing wild from cultivated C. annuum is rate of germination. Other traits of the domestication syndrome, such as fruit size, position and loss of dispersal, vary among landraces. Diversification traits are usually attributed to human selection after domestication and include fruit shapes, colour and degree of pungency. Some domestication and diversification traits are controlled by major genes, others by several to many quantitative trait loci. Much of the diversity in Mexican chiles was present by the time of the Spanish Conquest and probably reflects selection for different uses in cooking, as markers for invisible qualities such as flavour, or simply for aesthetic reasons. The archaeobotanical record is too limited to show where or in what order domestication and diversification traits arose. Remains (mainly seeds) are present from the earliest phases of caves in the Tehuacán valley, but all seeds from preceramic levels are within the size range of modern wild chile piquin. The earliest convincing evidence of domesticated chiles follows a gap of over 1500 years in the archaeological record. Aztec tribute lists show that impressive quantities of chiles were being produced at the time of the Conquest. Accounts by the chroniclers demonstrate that different colours, shapes and degrees of pungency of the fruits were established and used in a variety of stews and casseroles, in medicine, and as a punishment. Today chiles are used fresh (for example, jalapeño, serrano or sweet pepper) or dried (for example, pasilla or mirasol). Concerns about genetic erosion have prompted studies on the distribution of genetic variation in wild and cultivated populations and led to recommendations for collecting for ex situ conservation. More work is needed on the role of local people in conserving diversity in situ, in farms and/or home gardens.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Retired from School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, 4 Settle Road, Airton, Near Skipton BD23 4BD, North Yorkshire, UK

    Barbara Pickersgill Ph.D., B.Sc. (Hons.)

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  1. Barbara Pickersgill Ph.D., B.Sc. (Hons.)
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Correspondence to Barbara Pickersgill Ph.D., B.Sc. (Hons.) .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Unidad de Biotecnología y Prototipos(UBI, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Estado de Mexico, Mexico

    Rafael Lira

  2. Instituto de Ivestigaciones en Ecosistem, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico

    Alejandro Casas

  3. Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morel, Colonia Chamilpa, Cuernavaca,, Morelos, Mexico

    José Blancas

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Pickersgill, B. (2016). Chile Peppers (Capsicum spp.). In: Lira, R., Casas, A., Blancas, J. (eds) Ethnobotany of Mexico. Ethnobiology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6669-7_17

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