Entrada del codex·Plantas
Chiltepin Bush
Entradas
- Entrada 1
Chiltepin, Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum, is considered the wild ancestor of cultivated C. annuum, the species that produced bell peppers and many familiar chiles through domestication.
- Entrada 2
Wild birds eat chiltepin fruit and disperse the seeds while mammals tend to avoid the capsaicin. Experiments support the idea that pungency helps peppers favor seed-dispersing birds over seed-destroying rodents.
- Entrada 3
In the Arizona-Sonora borderlands, wild chiltepins commonly grow beneath nurse trees and shrubs such as mesquite, ironwood and hackberry. Their shade reduces summer heat and helps protect the peppers from winter frost.