Síntesis del conocimiento taxonómico, origen y domesticación del género Capsicum

Abstract

The genus Capsicum consists of approximately 30 species of which C. annuum, C. chinense, C. frutescens, C. baccatum and C. pubescens are domesticated. Although Capsicum has been studied from the taxonomic and evolutionary point of view, using morphological, cytological and molecular characters, there are still sorne problems related to the taxonomic delimitation of the genus and its species, the nomenclature of the wild and cultivated forms, and the treatment of infraspecific variation. In order to determine the generic and specific taxonomic limits and to establish their phylogenetic and evolutionary relationships, it is necessary to undertake these studies among all the taxa of the genus Capsicum. C. annuum, C. chinense, and C. frutescens are taxa that form a taxonomic complex that can be barely differentiated and at the present it is impossible to determine whether they belong to the same or different species. The center of origin of the genus Capsicum is in South America, in the region that comprises Bolivia, northern Argentina, and central and southern Brazil. The biogeographic and archeobotanical studies indicate that during the dispersion of Capsicum along the American Continent, some of the species were domesticated independently in different places: C. annuum in Mexico; C. frutescens in Costa Rica, and possibly also in Mexico; C: chinense in the Amazonas lowlands; C. baccaturn in Bolivia, and C. pubescens in the Andes. In Mexico, C. annuwn has been cultivated throughout all the country; C. frutescens in the central and south eastern regions; C. chinense in the Yucatán Península, and C. pubescens in the high lands of the central states. In addition, there are C. ciliatum and C. lanceolatum, two species that have never been used by man. Genetic and ecological studies on wild populations are very important for the use and conservation of this genetic resource.