Capsicum baccatum L. var. umbilicatum (Vell.) Hunz. & Barboza, Kurtziana 26: 27. 1998.

Barboza, Gloria E., Garcia, Carolina Carrizo, Bianchetti, Luciano de Bem, Romero, Maria V. & Scaldaferro, Marisel, 2022, Monograph of wild and cultivated chili peppers (Capsicum L., Solanaceae), PhytoKeys 200, pp. 1-423 : 1

2c. Capsicum baccatum L. var. umbilicatum (Vell.) Hunz. & Barboza, Kurtziana 26: 27. 1998.

Figs 29 , 30

Capsicum umbilicatum Vell., Fl. Flumin.: 61. 1829. Type. Brazil. [Rio de Janeiro]: "Colitur hortis" (lectotype, designated by Knapp et al. 2015, pg. 825: [illustration] Original parchment plate of Flora Fluminensis in the Manuscript Section of the Biblioteca Nacional, Rio de Janeiro [cat. no.: mss1198651_010] and later published in Vellozo, Fl. Flumin. Icon. 2: t. 7. 1831).

Type.

Based on Capsicum umbilicatum Vell.

Description.

Erect shrubs 1.50-2 m tall, with the main stem 1-1.5 cm in diameter at base, much branched from near the base, the branches spreading in a typical “zig-zag” appearance. Young stems 3-4-angled, fragile, green, mostly glabrous to sparsely pubescent with appressed-antrorse, short, simple, uniseriate, 4-5-celled, eglandular trichomes 0.3-0.6 mm long; nodes green or purple; bark of older stems green with light brown fissures, glabrous; lenticels absent. Sympodial units difoliate, the leaves geminate; leaf pair unequal in size, similar in shape. Leaves membranous, concolorous or slightly discolorous, dark green above, light green beneath, glabrous to glabrescent adaxially and in margins with 5-6-celled eglandular trichomes and with long, spreading, 8-12-celled, eglandular trichomes along the primary veins and in the vein axils abaxially; blades of major leaves 5-14 cm long, 2.5-5 cm wide, ovate, the major veins 6-7 on each side of mid-vein, the base asymmetric and attenuate, the margins entire, the apex acute; petioles 2.5-7.5 (-9.5) cm long, sparsely pubescent; blades of minor leaves 4-4.5 cm long, 1.5-2.5 cm wide, ovate, the major veins 4-5 on each side of mid-vein, the base rounded, the apex acute; petioles 0.8-1.5 cm long, sparsely pubescent. Inflorescences axillary, 1-2 flowers per axil, rarely 3-flowered; flowering pedicels 25-35 mm long, angled, erect, geniculate at anthesis, rarely slightly curved and pendent, glabrescent, the trichomes short, antrorse; pedicels scars inconspicuous. Buds globose, white with greenish-yellow spots. Flowers 5-6-merous. Calyx 2-2.5 mm long, 3-3.8 mm wide, subequal, cup-shaped, thick, strongly 5-10-nerved, green, glabrescent to moderately pubescent with simple and some forked eglandular trichomes, the calyx appendages 5 or up to 8, 0.8-1.2 mm long, 0.2 mm wide, subequal, thick, erect, cylindrical, inserted close to the margin, with the same pubescence as calyx tube. Corolla 10-13 mm long, 12-14 mm in diameter, thick, white with greenish-yellow spots and a white centre outside and within, rotate-stellate with interpetalar membrane, lobed ⅓ or less than of the way to the base, pubescent adaxially with short glandular trichomes (stalk 1-3-celled; head globose, peltate, unicellular) in the throat and base of the lobes, glabrous abaxially, the tube 4 mm long, the lobes 5-6 mm long, ca. 3 mm wide, triangular or broadly triangular, spreading, sometimes with sparse eglandular trichomes abaxially, the margins finely ciliate, the tips acute, papillate. Stamens five, equal; filaments 2.5-2.7 long, white, inserted on the corolla 1-1.2 mm from the base, with auricles fused to the corolla at point of insertion; anthers 2.5-2.7 mm long, ellipsoid, yellow, not connivent at anthesis. Gynoecium with ovary 2-2.2 mm long, ca. 1.5 mm in diameter, 3 (-4)-carpelar, light green, ovoid; ovules more than two per locule; nectary ca. 1.2 mm tall, yellowish-green; styles dimorphic, short style 1.25-1.5 mm long, not exceeding the anthers length, long style 2.5-2.8 mm long, at the same level of the anthers or slightly exserted, white, cylindrical; stigma ca. 0.2 mm long, 0.6-0.7 mm wide, discoid, yellowish-green. Berry 25-40 mm long, 30-55 mm in diameter, campanulate-umbilicate, the base truncate or obtuse, the apex rounded, blunt or pointed, light green when immature, orange-red or bright red at maturity, persistent, pungent, the pericarp thick, opaque, without giant cells (endocarp smooth); stone cells absent; fruiting pedicels 25-35 mm long, pendent, sometimes strongly curved, strongly angled, widened distally, green; fruiting calyx 10-16 mm in diameter, persistent, slightly accrescent, slightly campanulate, thick, strongly nerved, green, the appendages 1-2 mm long, spreading or slightly recurved. Seeds 30-68 per fruit, 3.5-4.2 mm long, 3-4 mm wide, C-shaped, pale yellow to yellow, the seed coat slightly reticulate (SM), minutely reticulate (SEM), the cells polygonal to irregular in shape, the lateral walls straight to wavy; embryo imbricate.

Distribution.

Capsicum baccatum var. umbilicatum is a cultigen and has been reported from Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Paraguay, Bolivia, Argentina and the Caribbean Islands (Fig. 27 ). The commercialisation of the fruits has increased enormously in different South American ( Hunziker and Barboza 1998; Barboza, pers. obs.) and European markets ( Hazen-Hammond 1993).

Ecology.

Capsicum baccatum var. umbilicatum is a cultivated plant adapted to wet and semi-shaded places.

Phenology.

Flowering from October to June; fruiting from December to July.

Chromosome number.

2 n = 2x = 24 ( Moscone 1999; Moscone et al. 2003).

Common names.

Argentina: Campanita (Salta, Barboza 164), Farolito, mitra (Distrito Federal, Melchiore s.n.); Brazil: Pimiento pitonga (Rio de Janeiro, Scaldaferro 57), Pimenta-de-cheiro-amarela ( Amapá, Pereira et al. 1830), Chapéu-de-frade, Cabeça-de-frade, Chapéu-de-bispo, Pimenta-chapéu, Pimenta-de flor, Pimenta-de-cheiro (Roraima, Barbosa et al. 2006; São Paulo, Carvalho et al. 2006), Pimenta-chapeu-de-padre ( São Paulo, Bernacci 2816), Pimentao fundo de garraba ( Sturtevant 1888a); Jamaica and other Caribbean Islands: Jamaica hot ( Miller and Harrison 1991); Peru: Rosasuchu ( Andrews 1984); Western Hemisphere: Scallop pepper ( Halsted et al. 1912), Rocotillo or Red squash ( Andrews 1984).

Uses.

The mildly hot fruits of this cultivated variety are valued for their use in dishes with tropical fruits, sauces, Caribbean fish stews, curries and chutneys ( Miller and Harrison 1991) or fresh as a condiment ( Andrews 1984). The fruiting plant is very showy and so it is also grown as an ornamental (Barboza, pers. obs.).

Preliminary conservation assessment.

EOO (6,070,048 km2); AOO (64 km2). Capsicum baccatum var. umbilicatum is a cultigen in the Least Concern (LC) category.

Discussion.

Capsicum baccatum var. umbilicatum belongs to the Baccatum clade ( Carrizo García et al. 2016). Amongst the broad morphological variation of the fruits within the domesticated C. baccatum , this cultigen was described from eastern Brazil (Rio de Janeiro), based on its noteworthy and unusual morphotype, consisting in a campanulate-umbilicate, red or orange-red, pendent fruit ( Hunziker and Barboza 1998), the character on which the original description was based ( Vellozo 1829). The campanulate-umbilicate shape refers to the fruit having an apex with an acute protrusion arising from a central depression at the middle height of the fruit (Figs 29D , 30I, J ). Due to this unusual fruit shape and bright red colour, this plant has been repeatedly discussed in the chili pepper literature. After Vellozo (1829), Sendtner (1846) mentioned C. umbilicatum as a synonym of C. annuum var. grossum . Then Irish (1898) submerged it under the 'Red Wrinkled’ cultivar of C. annuum . Other authors illustrated and named this taxon as "Scallop pepper" ( Halsted et al. 1912, Lam. 19, fig. 2) or as C. chinense cv. ‘rocotillo’ ( Andrews 1984, pl. 31), respectively. It was Sturtevant (1888a) who provided a detailed description for this cultigen, based on plants obtained from seeds from Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and stated that it was "an extremely well marked variety". Hunziker and Barboza also grew plants of this cultivar from seeds from Paraguay and observed that the flowers were identical to the Andean domesticated C. baccatum populations. Hunziker and Barboza (1998) considered that the fruit shape was a particular variant within this taxon and proposed the name C. baccatum var. umbilicatum . In addition to the shape of the fruits, the typical giant cells of the pericarp, a derived character present in most of the Capsicum species ( Carrizo García et al. 2016), are missing in this cultivar. In addition, the presence of sclereids in the epicarp and endocarp distinguish this variety from the wild and other domesticated C. baccatum ( Hunziker and Barboza 1998 and see Suppl. material 1: Appendix 1). Although molecular studies ( Albrecht et al. 2012b; Carrizo García et al. 2016; Scaldaferro et al. 2019) demonstrated the close affinities between domesticated lines of Capsicum baccatum , they were not sufficiently conclusive to support combining the domesticated varieties into one entity. Therefore, for those individuals that fit this distinctive and unusual fruit morphology and anatomy, we prefer to maintain the name C. baccatum var. umbilicatum .

Specimens examined.

See Suppl. material 4: Appendix 4.

Figures

Figure 27. Distribution of C. baccatum var. baccatum, C. baccatum var. pendulum and C. baccatum var. umbilicatum.

Figure 29. Capsicum baccatum var. umbilicatum A reproductive branch B flower C section of the calyx showing the venation D, E eglandular trichomes of the abaxial surface of the calyx F glandular trichome of the adaxial surface of the calyx G sector of opened corolla H eglandular trichome of the corolla lobes I, J anthers, in dorsal and ventral views, respectively K gynoecium with long style L gynoecium with short style M ovary trilocular, in cross section N seed O seed, in cross section P structure of seed coat at the seed margin Q structure of seed coat at the seed body R embryo. From Rodriguez s. n. (CORD 241). Drawn by N. de Flury. Published in Hunziker (1998), reproduced with permission.

Figure 30. Capsicum baccatum var. umbilicatum A plant B flower bud C flower, lateral view D flower short-styled E flower long-styled F flower hexamerous G flower, seen from behind H immature fruit I, J mature fruits A-I f rom Barboza 5163, photos by G. E. Barboza J from Carrizo Garcia 101, photo by C. Carrizo Garcia.