Brazilean chiles: speculations...

[Aji Inferno]

I've noticed some quite interesting differences between the capsicum baccatums and capsicum chinenses of Brazil, and the "rest of the world"...

When it comes to baccatums, many Brazilean varieties seem to have a small, semi-wild-type fruit with no sweetness. Many of those may well have a relationship with wild c.praetermissum chilies (which only tend to grow in Brazil area, whereas wild baccatums grow in Bolivia). These non-sweet, small Brazilean baccatums seem to form a type of their own among domesticated chilies...

The same seems to happen among Brazilean c.chinenses as well. Varieties like PI-441608 are clearly different from Caribbean chinenses, with their huge growth and small, semi-wild fruit.

[luca]

That's really interesting!

Pre-colombian indigenous people in brazil were rather isolated and had a very different culture than the indians from the andes region.  I wouldn't be surprised if the domestication in Brazil occured in a completely different path than the domestication in the Andes (or later in the caribbean).  Also, as that article from Embrapa mentioned, the "brazilian" (eastern) varieties of wild-peppers also differ quite a lot from the andean ones, which might explain the different hybrids used during the initial domestication...

[Aji Inferno]

That's really interesting!

Pre-colombian indigenous people in brazil were rather isolated and had a very different culture than the indians from the andes region.  I wouldn't be surprised if the domestication in Brazil occured in a completely different path than the domestication in the Andes (or later in the caribbean).  Also, as that article from Embrapa mentioned, the "brazilian" (eastern) varieties of wild-peppers also differ quite a lot from the andean ones, which might explain the different hybrids used during the initial domestication...

Yes, an interesting theory..! It seems like the Brazilean chilis are, indeed, a breed of their own, and thus unique also for home growers.