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Chili is a
Solanácea with six main species and ten secondary
species. It is an annual, herbaceous plant, of
certain growth. Its root is central with numerous
roots, reaching a depth of 70-120 cm. The height of
the plants varies of 0,30 to 1m, according to the
varieties. The flower of Chili is fragile. The fruit
is red a generally yellow berry or in its maturity.
The seeds are squashed and smooth, being able to
count itself of 150-200 by gram; rich in oil and
they conserve his germination power during three or
four years.
The name of the chili peppers is quite confused
because frequently the same Chile receives another
name in a different place, still between which are
cultivated commercially. In some places wide Chile
is known like "pasilla". Fat Chile can be called
jalapeño or poblano. Also is frequent to find in
some places a Chili guajillo pepper called "bell
pepper" and in another one "mirasol".
Taking in account the classification that becomes
for Capsicum spp, most of cultivated chili peppers
which appear in the country belongs to Capsicum
annuum. In addition, the mentioned species has in
Mexico its related wild species, C. annuum var.
aviculare, well-known with the name of chiltepe.
The work of Bukasov published in 1930, in Leningrad
is the most complete study on the subject of the
cultivated plants, raising the genetic diversity in
the country, of the following way:
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Capsicum
pubescens
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Capsicum
frutescens var. baccatum
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C. annuum
var. grossum Sendt. group of varieties "I fine"
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C. annuum
var. longum Sendt. variety "Guaque"
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C. annuum
var. acuminatum Fingerth, variety "Chocolate"
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C. annuum
var. abbreviatum Fiongerth, variety "Zambo"
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C. annuum
var. ceraciforme variety "Uluté"
At the present
time different names in the classification from
Capsicum are used; nevertheless, for the case of
Mexico, it is considered that the following species
exist:
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Capsicum
annuum L. var. annuum, cultivated forms of C. annuum L. C. annuum L. Var. aviculare (Dierb.)
D'Arcy & Eshbaugh.
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C.
ciliatum (HBK) Kuntze
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C.
frutecens L.
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C.
lanceolatum Morton & Stanl.
-
C.
pubescens Ruiz & Pavon, considered like
synonymous of C. guatemalense.
Next some
frequent species of Chile are described: |
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Capsicum annuum L.
Common name: Chile small ball, Chile
chocolate, tooth dog, guaque, length, zambo.
It is widely cultivated and of greater
economic importance, it includes from sweet
chili peppers until the hottest one.
Chile is widely used to spice all plate
class, being used fresh or dry.
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C.annuum L. var. aviculare (Dierb) D'Arcy &
Esbaugh.
Mountain Chile or chiltepe, grows in the dry,
humid or very humid forests; some times in
rocky forests, 1200 meter over the sea level
or less of height.
This species are distributed much of it in
the Pacific coast like in the one of the
Gulf of Mexico; one family characterizes by
the globosity and ovoid form of the fruit,
the orange color, by its special flavor and
average degree of pungency. It is used in
the preparation of hot sauces and in tanning. |
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Chinense Capsicum.
Also it is widely spread in Tropical America.
The greater diversity of this chili exists
in the region of the Amazon, and its center
of origin is the South America. Some
varieties grow in Africa and they are
reported like sharpest of all chili peppers.
A constriction underneath the chalice is
only the morphologic character that
separates chinense C. of C. frutescens. |
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C.
chinense y C. frutescens strictly are
related and probably both they could be
combined in a species, in such case the name
of C.s frutescens has preference.
No type of wild chinense C. is known and
seems that the ancestor is the wild type of
C. frutescens. The flowers appear in number
from two to five by knot (rarely solitary).
Pedicelo can be turgid, pending or inclined
in antesis, but the
majority is pending. The corolla is white or
white greenish with straight lobes that do
not bend nor have spots in the base. The
chalice typically shows a construction in
the union with pedicelo. The teeth of the
chalice can be pronounced (the majority) or
no. The seed is of pajizo color and
frequently it is wrinkled irregularly with
salient boards and waves.
Havanan Chile, identifies to all petenero
due to the delicate use and intensive that
does of him, nevertheless, widely it is not
distributed, restricting the area from
production to the towns that surround to the
lake of Petén Itzá, although at the present
time it is dispersing to some regions
bordering to Poptún and San Luis. This class
of Chile could be said that it is endemic
for the central zone of the Petén, since in
the rest of the country it is little or
nothing well-known. Two classes of Havanan
Chile exist, the yellow shining with wax
appearance and the red one. First of which
it is solicited in the local market whereas
the second is the one that takes place at
the moment for export. Their requirements of
light give the facility of being able to
cultivate it associate with macal (Xanthosoma
sp.) and papaya (Carioca papaya) or in
monoculture. |
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Chile chocolate
It is an extended conical Chile, widely
cultivated in the Eastern, northeastern zone
and in some regions of the country. It is
used like spice in the hot preparation of
tamales, preparation of tacos, sauces and
toasting to stopped the comal to add it to
frijoles.
At the present time the culture area is
expanding to many regions of the country,
compared with the distribution that it had a
few years ago, when it was restricted mainly
to the zone of the Veracruz, the reason of
this advance in the borders of its
distribution is because it has a high demand
in the scope of country.
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Tip
of hen
Call also tooth of dog, maaxic. This Chili
is widely distributed in the warm-humid
region of Mexico, being developed most of
times in wild form. It is characterized
mainly by his thin conical form and by its
high degree of pungency, being used in the
elaboration of hot sauces and pickles. Their
requirements of light cause that it is
developed mainly in the shade that provides
the familiar orchards or in areas covered by
trees and green vegetation. Its use in the
nutritional diet is restricted groups that
please to eat highly pungent chili peppers.
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Chile Cobanero
Also call Tolito, original variety of the
South, scattered at the moment in the south
and center, as well as to the northeast.
Typical cobanero Chili, is characterized for
being round and in light red color, getting
a dark red color after being roasted, and
before being processed in the grinder into
powder, presentation that has a lot of
demand in the market. |
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Capsicum frutescens L.
The Tabasco culture is the only member of
those species outside cultivat in the
tropical. This species is characterized by
its blue anthers, their yellowish, white
greenish or milky corollas usually they have
some knots with one or two pedicelos. |
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