History and Distribution of Capsicum chinense in Indonesia

Abstract

Capsicum chinense is thought to have been domesticated in the lowlands east of the Andes Mountains in South America. It is grown in Southeast Asia, but its distribution there remains unknown. We conducted literature, specimen, field, and market surveys of C. chinense in Indonesia to investigate its introduction into Indonesia and to determine its current distribution. One dried specimen collected in 1912 and stored as Capsicum sp. appears to be either C. frutescens or C. chinense. An illustration of C. frutescens in Ochse (1931), which actually appears to be C. chinense, suggests that C. chinense may have been introduced into Indonesia before World War II; however, the distribution of C. chinense in Southeast Asia remains very limited to this today. In Indonesia, C. chinense is distributed widely on at least the three major islands of Java, Kalimantan, and Sulawesi with several morphologically different fruit types; it is used as an ornamental plant as well as a spice. Four species of the genus Capsicum, including C. annuum, C. frutescens, C. pubescens, and C. chinense, are distributed in Indonesia, which suggests that Indonesia has more genetic resources and more potential to breed species of Capsicum than other countries in Southeast and East Asia.