Capsicum recurvatum Witasek, Denkschr. Ak. Wissensch. Wien, Mathem. Naturw. Kl. 79(2): 321. 1910.

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

38. Capsicum recurvatum Witasek, Denkschr. Ak. Wissensch. Wien, Mathem. Naturw. Kl. 79(2): 321. 1910.

Figs 107 , 108

Type.

Brazil. São Paulo: Apiahy , Nov 1888, [G.L.T. Puiggari] 3577 (lectotype, designated here: WU [acc. # 0037948]; isolectotype: CORD [CORD00006951 fragment from WU]) .

Description.

Erect shrubs (1-) 1.5-4 m high, with the main stem thick, 2-2.5 cm in diameter at base, much branched above, the branches dichotomously spreading in a typical “zig-zag” appearance. Young stems angled, fragile, green or light green, glabrescent to moderately pubescent, with antrorse, curved, simple, uniseriate, 3-6 (-8)-celled, eglandular trichomes 0.3-0.9 mm long; nodes solid, purple or green; bark of older stems dark brown, striate, glabrous; lenticels few. Sympodial units difoliate, the leaves geminate; leaf pair unequal in size, similar or dissimilar in shape. Leaves membranous, discolorous, dark green above, light green beneath, glabrous to moderately or densely pubescent on both surfaces and margins, especially on the veins beneath, with uniseriate, 2-5-celled, eglandular trichomes 0.9-1.2 mm long; blades of major leaves 5-16 (-20) cm long, 1.4-4.8 cm wide, elliptic or narrowly elliptic to ovate, the major veins 4-6 (-7) on each side of mid-vein, the base asymmetric and attenuate, the margins entire, the apex acute or acuminate; petioles 0.3-1.5 (-2) cm long, moderately pubescent; blades of minor leaves 3.2-4.7 cm long, 1.4-2.2 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 0.2-0.4 cm long, glabrous or moderately pubescent. Inflorescences axillary, 2-4 flowers per axil, rarely flowers solitary; flowering pedicels 9-20 mm long, terete, sometimes slightly striate, erect, geniculate at anthesis, green, with sparse antrorse eglandular trichomes; pedicels scars inconspicuous. Buds globose, inflated, white with greenish-yellow spots. Flowers 5-merous. Calyx 1.5-2 mm long, ca. 2-2.7 mm wide, cup-shaped, thick, green, glabrous to moderately pubescent, with 2-4-celled eglandular trichomes and small glandular trichomes (stalk one-celled; head dark, multicellular), the calyx appendages 5-9 (-10), the five main appendages longer and subequal 1-2.5 mm long, 0.2-0.5 mm wide, the 1-4 (-5) secondary appendages shorter and unequal 0.1-0.7 mm long, 0.2-0.5 mm wide, spreading or recurved, cylindrical or more commonly triangular, laterally compressed, green, inserted 0.1-0.3 mm below the margin leaving a rudimentary membranous hyaline sleeve portion. Corolla 6-7 mm long, ca.11 mm in diameter, thick, white with green spots outside, white with different patterns of greenish-yellow spots in the base of the lobes and in the throat and a white centre within, stellate without interpetalar membrane, lobed more than 1/3 to nearly halfway to the base, the tube 3-3.5 mm long, pubescent adaxially with a continuous ring of glandular trichomes (stalk long, 1-2-celled; head globose peltate, unicellular), glabrous abaxially, the lobes 3-3.7 mm long, 3.5-4 mm wide, triangular, spreading, glabrous adaxially and abaxially, the margins papillate, the tips cucullate, papillate. Stamens five, equal; filaments 2-2.5 mm long, white, inserted on the corolla 1-1.2 mm from the base, with auricles fused to the corolla at the point of insertion; anthers 1-1.8 (-1.9) mm long, ellipsoid, yellow, light green or grey, brownish post-dehiscent, not connivent at anthesis. Gynoecium with ovary 1-1.8 mm long, 1-1.3 mm in diameter, green, subglobose; ovules more than two per locule; nectary 0.3-0.5 mm tall; styles homomorphic, 3.2-3.5 mm long, exserted 0.8-1 mm beyond the anthers, white, clavate; stigma 0.2 mm long, 0.5-0.9 mm wide, discoid, pale green. Berry 7-9 mm in diameter, globose, green when immature, greenish-golden yellow at maturity, deciduous, very pungent when immature and rather sweet at maturity, the pericarp thin, translucent, with giant cells (endocarp alveolate); stone cells absent; fruiting pedicels 18-25 mm long, pendent, angled, widened distally, green; fruiting calyx (3-) 4-4.5 mm in diameter, persistent, not accrescent, discoid, green, the appendages 0.4-2.6 mm long, 0.3-0.5 mm wide, strongly recurved and compressed. Seeds (4-) 8-25 per fruit, 2.5-2.8 mm long, 2-2.5 mm wide, C-shaped, reniform or subglobose, dark brown or black, the seed coat reticulate-tuberculate (SM), reticulate with pillar-like outgrowths (SEM), the cells irregular or polygonal in shape, the lateral walls wavy to sinuate in the seed body and straight at margins; embryo imbricate.

Distribution.

Capsicum recurvatum is endemic to south and south-eastern Brazil (Minas Gerais, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Santa Catarina and São Paulo States) (Fig. 109 ).

Ecology.

Capsicum recurvatum is quite common along the Serra do Mar, in different formations of the coastal Atlantic Forest (Floresta Ombrófila Densa Montana, Floresta Ombrófila Densa Submontana, Floresta Estacional Semidecídual, Floresta Ombrófila Mista, Floresta Tropical Pluvial Atlântica de Encosta and Floresta Tropical de Encosta). It is found growing on moist ground mainly in semi-shade in primary or secondary forests, between 50 and1,800 m elevation.

Phenology.

Flowering from late October to April; in fruit from January to June.

Chromosome number.

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

Common names.

Brazil: Pimenta silvestre ( São Paulo, Hoehne s.n.), Pimenta de bugre (Santa Catarina, Reitz C 924), Pimenta-do-mato (Santa Catarina, Schwirkowski 139), Pimenta do pasarinho ( São Paulo, Barboza et al. 2023).

Uses.

None recorded.

Preliminary conservation assessment.

EOO (288,689.164 km2); AOO (380 km2). Capsicum recurvatum occupies a large range along the Serra do Mar and is very frequent in many conservation units. Based on these criteria and the number of locations, we consider this species in the Least Concern (LC) category.

Discussion.

Capsicum recurvatum belongs to the Atlantic Forest clade ( Carrizo García et al. 2016). Its most remarkable character is the calyx which is extremely variable in the number, length, shape and orientation of the appendages; the main appendages are five and each flower also bears 1-5 secondary appendages of different lengths amongst them; appendages are cylindrical or most commonly triangular and laterally compressed, spreading or curved backwards in flowering calyx and strongly recurved in fruiting calyx. The corolla is white with a variable patterning of the greenish-yellow pigmentation within, having a large more or less extended greenish-yellow spot in each lobe (e.g. Hunziker 20230) or two smaller spots separated by a white line (main vein) (e.g. Barboza 5004) or many small spots (e.g. Hunziker 25183) in the base of the lobes and in the throat; completely white corollas have been occasionally observed (e.g. Hunziker 25186).

Smith and Downs (1966) identified plants of C. recurvatum from Santa Catarina, Brazil as C. mirabile . It can be distinguished from that species in the number and orientation of the appendages (5-10 of varying lengths in C. recurvatum vs. five subequal appendages in C. mirabile ), corolla colour (white in C. recurvatum vs. purple with white margins in C. mirabile ) and its distribution ( C. mirabile does not reach Santa Catarina). In herbaria, it is quite common to find specimens of C. recurvatum identified as C. cornutum from which it differs in its white corollas with greenish-yellow spots (vs. white corollas with purple spots in C. cornutum ), the recurved (vs. erect or spreading) calyx appendages and the antrorse (vs. spreading and denser) pubescence.

In the protologue of C. recurvatum , Witasek (1910) cited no specific herbarium for the type specimen; the collections she used are at WU and we selected a specimen with the same data as the protologue as the lectotype.

Figures

Figure 107. Capsicum recurvatum A reproductive branch B flower, seen from behind C eglandular trichome of the outer surface of the calyx D glandular trichome of the inner surface of the calyx E sector of opened corolla F gynoecium G fruit H anatomical detail of the pericarp (note the giant cells in the mesocarp) I seed J seed, cross section K structure of seed coat at the seed margin L structure of seed coat at the seed body M embryo A, C, D, G, H from Hunziker 20775 B, E, F from Hunziker 19546 I-M from Barboza et al. 2023. Drawn by L. Ochoa.

Figure 108. Capsicum recurvatum A plant B apical branch, showing leaves abaxial surface C flower bud D flower, in pre-anthesis E flower, in front view F flower, seen from behind G flower showing exserted style H immature fruit I mature fruit. From Barboza & Deanna 5004. Photos by G. E. Barboza.

Figure 109. Distribution of C. recurvatum and C. regale.