Capsicum schottianum Sendtn., Fl. Bras. (Martius) 10(6): 143. 1846.

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

41. Capsicum schottianum Sendtn., Fl. Bras. (Martius) 10(6): 143. 1846.

Figs 115 , 116

Type.

[ Brazil. Rio de Janeiro]: Serra d’Estrella, [no date], H.W. Schott [5425] (lectotype, designated here: W [acc. # 0074666]; isolectotypes: CORD [CORD00006649], F [v0072906F, acc. # 874709], W [acc. # 0074665, acc. # 0074667]) .

Description.

Erect shrubs 1-2.5 m tall or small trees 3-5 m tall, with the main stem (1.5-) 2-3 (-6) cm in diameter at base, much branched above, the branches dichotomously spreading in a typical “zig-zag” appearance. Young stems 3-4-angled, rigid, green or light purple, moderately pubescent, with antrorse, curved, simple, uniseriate, 2-6-celled, eglandular trichomes 0.25-0.5 mm long; nodes solid, swollen, dark green almost black or lilac; bark of older stems dark brown, glabrous; lenticels absent. Sympodial units difoliate, the leaves geminate; leaf pair unequal in size, similar in shape. Leaves membranous, slightly discolorous to discolorous, opaque, green above, light green beneath, glabrous or sparsely pubescent, with similar trichomes as in stems on both surfaces; blades of major leaves (4-) 9.5-16.5 (-25.5) cm long, 2-4 (-6) cm wide, elliptic to ovate, the major veins 6-8 on each side of mid-vein, the base attenuate or cuneate, unequal, the margins entire, the apex acuminate; petioles 0.8-2.5 cm long, glabrescent to moderately pubescent; blades of minor leaves 3.4-4.2 cm long, 1.5-1.7 cm wide, elliptic or ovate, the major veins 3-4 on each side of mid-vein, the base attenuate, the margins entire, the apex acute or obtuse; petioles 0.1-0.4 cm long, with similar pubescence as the major leaves. Inflorescences axillary, 2-5 (-7) flowers per axil, very rarely flowers solitary; flowering pedicels 8-25 mm long, thin, angled, erect or slightly spreading, geniculate at anthesis, light green, glabrescent, the eglandular trichomes short, antrorse; pedicel scars conspicuous, corky. Buds globose-ovoid, green or greenish-yellow, rarely purple. Flowers 5-merous. Calyx (1.5-) 2-2.4 mm long, 2.25-2.5 mm wide, cup-shaped, green, circular or pentagonal in outline, sometimes the primary veins conspicuously marked on the surface, glabrescent, with sparse small glandular trichomes (stalk one-celled; head dark, multicellular) and 2-4-celled eglandular trichomes, the calyx appendages absent or with five minute appendages ca. 0.35 mm long. Corolla 7-8 (-10) mm long, 8-12 (-14) mm in diameter, mostly white with green or greenish-yellow and pale purple spots outside, white with discontinuous purple or brownish spots, greenish-yellow spots and white centre within (in some populations purple pigmentation absent); stellate without or with a thin interpetalar membrane, lobed more than 1/3 to halfway to the base, pubescent adaxially with a continuous ring of glandular trichomes (stalk long, 2-celled; head globose, peltate, unicellular) in the throat and base of the lobes, glabrous abaxially, the tube 2.4-4.2 mm long, the lobes 2-3.5 (-5) mm long, 2-4 mm wide, triangular or ovate, spreading, the margins finely ciliate or papillate, the tips acute and cucullate, papillate. Stamens five, equal; filaments (2.4-) 3-4 mm, white or cream, inserted on the corolla 1.5-2 mm from the base, with auricles fused to the corolla at the point of insertion; anthers (1.1-) 1.3-1.8 mm, ellipsoid, yellow, light green, grey or light purple, not connivent at anthesis. Gynoecium with ovary 1.25-1.7 mm long, 1.35-1.5 mm in diameter, light green, globose-ovoid; ovules more than two per locule; nectary ca. 0.5 mm tall; styles homomorphic, 3-4.5 mm long, barely exserted beyond the anthers, white, clavate, sometimes slightly curved; stigma 0.12-0.25 mm long, 0.75-0.85 mm wide, discoid or globose, pale green. Berry 7-9 mm in diameter, globose or subglobose, green when immature, greenish-golden yellow at maturity, deciduous, pungent when immature and less pungent when mature, the pericarp thin, translucent, with giant cells (endocarp alveolate); stone cells absent; fruiting pedicels 17-27 mm long, pendent, terete or angled, widened distally, green; fruiting calyx 3-4.5 mm in diameter, thin, persistent, not accrescent, discoid, light green, with a thin constriction at the junction with the calyx. Seeds (6-) 7-19 (-23) per fruit, 2.6-3.5 mm long, 2-3 mm wide, C-shaped, ellipsoid or teardrop-shaped, brownish-black to black, the seed coat reticulate and tuberculate at margins (SM), reticulate with pillar-like outgrowths (SEM), the cells irregular polygonal to irregular in shape, the lateral walls straight to sinuate; embryo imbricate.

Distribution.

Capsicum schottianum is endemic to south-eastern Brazil (Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo States) (Fig. 114 ).

Ecology.

Capsicum schottianum grows from the coast to the interior of the Atlantic Forest (Mata Atlântica). It is quite common, often forming large populations in the Floresta Ombrófila Densa and Floresta Estacional Semidecidual and can be found in margins and interior of primary and disturbed forests, near the watercourses, in sun or in semi-shade, between 250 and 1,700 m elevation.

Phenology.

Flowering from September to April; fruiting from December to June.

Chromosome number.

n = 13 ( Pozzobon and Schifino-Wittmann 2006); 2 n = 2x = 26 ( Pozzobon et al. 2006; Moscone et al. 2007).

Common names.

Brazil. Pimenta bentiví (Minas Gerais, Hunziker 25145).

Uses.

None recorded.

Preliminary conservation assessment.

EOO (148,467.320 km2); AOO (216 km2). Capsicum schottianum is distributed mainly along the Serra do Mar system (Serra da Carioca, Serra da Bocaina, Serra do Paranapiacaba, Serra dos Órgãos and others) and is very frequent in many conservation units. Considering the large extent of occurrence, the high number of locations in Natural Reserves and the large population size with many highly reproductive individuals, we suggest a Least Concern (LC) category for this species.

Discussion.

Capsicum schottianum is a member of the Atlantic Forest clade ( Carrizo García et al. 2016). Its most conspicuous feature is the white corollas with a variable quantity of purple and greenish-yellow pigmentation within. The purple (or brownish) pigmentation develops as two large strong spots in the basal half of each lobe extending up to near the apex (Fig. 116D ); in some cases, these spots are not equally developed on each lobe and are more or less diffuse (Fig. 116E-H ) or even lacking (Fig. 116I-K ). Variation in the anthocyanin pigmentation was observed in flowers of the same individual and within individuals of the same population (e.g. Ubatuba-São Paulo: Barboza et al. 5014, 5015, 5017). Corollas without any sign of purple colour were observed in some populations in Serra do Paranapiacaba ( São Paulo). The other distinctive character for this species is the flowering calyx with very prominent main veins that lacks appendages or that has five minute appendages (not more than 0.35 mm long), giving a pentagonal outline to the calyx (Fig. 116C, K, L ).

Capsicum schottianum is extremely difficult to distinguish from C. campylopodium in herbaria when the specimens have only immature fruits and there is no any indication of the corolla colour in the labels. The calyx of C. schottianum is generally pentagonal in outline and measures 1.5-2.4 mm long, corollas reach 7-10 mm long and 8-14 mm in diameter and have generally purple and greenish-yellow colouration within, the filaments are equal and the berry is globose to subglobose with 6-23 seeds. In contrast, the calyx of C. campylopodium is always circular in outline and measures (1-) 1.2-1.6 mm long, corollas reach 4.5-6.5 (-8) mm long, (6-) 6.4-7.5 (-11) mm in diameter and has golden yellow or ochraceous spots within, the filaments are unequal (3 + 2) and the berry is globose-depressed with only four (very rare six) seeds.

Capsicum schottianum can also be confused with C. pereirae which has a similar pattern of colouration in the corolla and calyx shape, but differs in the geniculation of the pedicels (geniculate in C. schottianum vs. non-geniculate in C. pereirae ) and leaf morphology (membranous and opaque in C. schottianum vs. coriaceous and shiny in C. pereirae ).

In describing C. schottianum , Sendtner (1846) cited two collections, one from "Serra d’Estrella” by Heinrich Schott and the other from "Brasilia australiore" by Friedrich Sellow. Sellow’s collection was assigned to Sendtner’s var. “β” to which he did not give a name; this was later described by Dunal (1852) as C. schottianum var. leptophyllum , which is here considered a synonym of C. flexuosum . Three specimens held in the Herbarium in Vienna collected by Schott bearing the number “5425” (W, acc.# 0074666) and 5426 (W, acc. # 0074665, acc. # 0074667) and the name " Capsicum schottianum Sendt." on the labels appear to all be original material. Only one of these has the original locality "Serra d’Estrella” on the label (W acc. # 0074666) and we select this here as the lectotype. The other sheets at W appear to be duplicates, as do sheets at F and CORD; thus, we treat these as isolectotypes.

Figures

Figure 114. Distribution of C. rhomboideum and C. schottianum.

Figure 115. Capsicum schottianum A reproductive branch B flower C section of the calyx showing the venation D eglandular trichome of the calyx E sector of opened corolla F gynoecium G fruit H fruit (one carpel), in cross section I anatomical detail of the pericarp (note the giant cells in the mesocarp) J seed K seed, cross section L structure of seed coat at the seed margin A-L from Hunziker 19577 L from Macedo 3079. Drawn by L. Sanchez.

Figure 116. Capsicum schottianum A plant B flower buds on geniculate pedicel C flower, in pre-anthesis D-J flowers, in front view, showing variations in the purple and greenish pigmentation of the corolla K, L flowers, seen from behind M flower in lateral view, showing not connivent anthers and style slightly exserted N immature fruits O mature fruit A, C Barboza et al. 1638 B, J, K, M from Barboza 5043 D, G, L from Barboza & Deanna 5019 E from Barboza & Deanna 5017 F from Barboza & Deanna 5029 H from Barboza & Deanna 5018 I, O from Barboza & Deanna 5014 N from Barboza & Deanna 5006. Photos by G. E. Barboza and R. Deanna.