Four new species of Capsicum (Solanaceae) from the tropical Andes and an update on the phylogeny of the genus

Abstract

Four new species of Capsicum (Capsiceae, Solanaceae) from Andean tropical forests in South America are described. Capsicum benoistii Hunz. ex Barboza sp. nov. (incertae sedis) is endemic to a restricted area in south-central Ecuador and is most similar to the more widespread C. geminifolium (Dammer) Hunz. (Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru). Capsicum piuranum Barboza & S. Leiva sp. nov. (Andean clade) is found in northern Peru (Department Piura) and is morphologically most similar to C. caballeroi M. Nee of the Bolivian yungas (Departments Santa Cruz and Cochabamba) but closely related to C. geminifolium and C. lycianthoides Bitter. Capsicum longifolium Barboza & S. Leiva sp. nov. (Andean clade) occurs from northern Peru (Departments Amazonas, Cajamarca, and Piura) to southern Ecuador (Province Zamora-Chinchipe), and is morphologically most similar to C. dimorphum (Miers) Kuntze (Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru). Capsicum neei Barboza & X. Reyes sp. nov. (Bolivian clade) is endemic to southeastern Bolivia (Departments Chuquisaca and Santa Cruz) in the Boliviano-Tucumano Forest, is morphologically most similar to another Bolivian endemic species C. minutiflorum Rusby (Hunz.), and is closely related to C. caballeroi. Complete descriptions, illustrations, distributions and conservation assessments of all new species are given. Chromosome numbers for C. piuranum and C. longifolium are also provided. Three of the new species were included in a new phylogenetic analysis for Capsicum; their positions were strongly resolved within clades previously recognized in the genus.

Modelled distributions and conservation status of the wild relatives of chile peppers (CapsicumL.)

“…glabriusculum, C. caatingae and C. rhomboideum ) and for designations proposed in previous literature ( C. piuranum as CR, in Barbosa et al 2019). They may provide further information for currently Red Listed taxa or taxa discussed in the literature whose designations do not fully align with our results ( C. lanceolatum on the Red List; C. benoistii , C. longifolium and C. neei in Barboza et al, ; and C. caatingae and C. longidentatum in Barboza et al, ). The results may also provide useful preliminary threat assessment indications for the 28 taxa currently absent from the Red List and previous threat assessment literature.…”

“…Reference occurrence data were obtained from all records listed within the genus Capsicum from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF, ), the Global Crop Wild Relative Occurrence Database (Global Crop Diversity Trust, ), scientific literature (Barboza, Agra, Romero, Scaldaferro, & Moscone, ; Barboza & Bianchetti, ; Barboza, Carrizo García, Leiva González, Scaldaferro, & Reyes, ) and from the authors’ own botanical explorations. Gene bank and botanical garden conservation occurrence as well as reference data were obtained from the Genesys plant genetic resources portal (Global Crop Diversity Trust, ), the USDA National Plant Germplasm System (GRIN Global; USDA ARS NPGS, ), the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization World Information and Early Warning System on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (WIEWS) (FAO, ), and from the Botanic Gardens Conservation International PlantSearch database (BGCI, ).…”

“…Taxonomic names were standardized based on current literature (Barboza & Bianchetti, ; Barboza et al, , ; Carrizo Garcıa et al, ; Jarrett et al, ) and a monograph on the genus soon to be published (Barboza et al, in prep). Cultivated taxa; records listed in sample status fields as other than wild, weedy or null (e.g., landrace, improved, breeding material and cultivated); fossil specimens in the GBIF dataset; and records listed in collecting/acquisition source fields as sourcing from markets, institutes and home gardens were excluded.…”

Biomorphological Characterization of Brazilian Capsicum Chinense Jacq. Germplasm

“…The Capsicum genus (Solanaceae), commonly known as bell and chili pepper has been very important in many cultures worldwide for spices, medicines, ornamentals and vegetables [1][2][3][4]. The genus comprises approximately 42 described species [5], with wide range of morphological variability, mainly in different shapes, sizes, colors and sensory attributes of its fruits [6]. Among these species, five are considered domesticated: C. annuum L., C. frutescens L., C. chinense Jacq., C. baccatum L. (var.…”

Classification and Authentication of Paprika by UHPLC-HRMS Fingerprinting and Multivariate Calibration Methods (PCA and PLS-DA)

“…The five main cultivated and economically important species of paprika are Capsicum annuum L., C. chinense Jacq. and C. frutescens L., now widely grown throughout Europe, the southern United States, Africa, India and China, and the species C. baccatum L. and C. pubescens Ruiz & Pav., which are grown predominantly in South America [2,3].…”