Chile Pepper Fun Fact - Species of Chile Peppers

Did you know that there are Five Main Species of Chile Peppers

Peppers, like any other plant-based food, originally came from a naturally growing, undomesticated plant. Wild peppers look more like berries than the peppers you’ll find in the supermarket today, and grow only in the New World, with their range spanning from the southern United States through Central and northern South America.

Humans have been using chile peppers for thousands of years. In fact, the most verifiable evidence shows chiles were domesticated as early as 6,000-6,100 years ago in both Peru and Mexico, though there's evidence to suggest they may have been used thousands of years earlier. Over the years, selective breeding and hybridization of these once wild plants has resulted in the over 50,000 chile pepper cultivars that are estimated to exist today.

1. Capsicum Annuum

2. Capsicum Chinense

3. Capsicum Frutescens

4. Capsicum Baccatum

5. Capsicum Pubescens