1. Capsicum frutescens L. Sp. Pl. 189. 1753; Seem, in Bonplandia 9: 258. 1861, Viti, 440. 1862, FI. Vit. 177. 1866; Engl, in Bot. Jahrb. 7:473. 1886; Drake, Ill. FI. Ins. Mar. Pac. 248. 1892; Reinecke in Bot. Jahrb. 25:674.1898; Witasek in Denkschr. Akad. Wiss. Wien 85: 342. 1910; Greenwood in Proc. Linn. Soc. 154:102. 1943; Yuncker in Bishop Mus. Bull. 178: 105. 1943, in op. cit. 184:61. 1945, in op. cit. 220: 237. 1959; J. W. Parham, Pl. Fiji Isl. 237. 1964, ed. 2. 328. 1972; Backer & Bakh. f. FI. Java 2: 469. 1965; Purseglove, Trop. Crops, Dicot. 526. fig. 84, B. 1968; Heiser & Pickersgill in Taxon 18:280. fig. 1, 2. 1969; Sykes in New Zealand Dept. Sci. Indust. Res. Bull. 200: 192. 1970; B. E. V. Parham in New Zealand Dept. Sci. Indust. Res. Inform. Ser. 85:102. 1972; D’Arcy in Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 60:594. 1973; Heine in FI. Nouv.-Caled. et Depend. 7:204.1976; Symonin J. Adelaide Bot. Gard. 3: 137. 1981; Purdie et al. in FI. Australia 29: 178. 1982; Symon in J. Adelaide Bot. Gard. 8:10. 1985; Morat & Veillon in Bull. Mus. Nat. Hist. Nat. (Paris) IV. 7, Sect. B, Adansonia 3: 318.1985; MacKee, Pl. Intro. Cult. Nouv.-Caled. 124. 1985. Coarse, perennial, suffrutescent herb or low shrub 0.6-2 m. high, freely escaped from cultivation and naturalized in coconut plantations, cultivated fields, and clearings, and along rocky coasts and on open hillsides from near sea level to about 400 m. The corolla is greenish white or pale yellow, the anthers are blue to violet, rarely yellow, and the fruits become red. Flowers and fruits are seen throughout the year. Lectotypification: Heiser and Pickersgill (1969) indicate as lectotype the specimen of Capsicum frutescens in van Royen’s herbarium (l). Distribution: Probably originating in South America but early widespread throughout the New World and subsequently into all tropical and subtropical areas. Local names and use: Fijian names are mboro, mboro nganga, mboro ni vava- langi, and rokete; also known as mircha (Hindi), chilli, birds-eye chilli, birds-eye pepper, bird pepper, and hot pepper. The edible fruit is used as a pungent condiment. Available collections: VITI LEVU: Mba: Lautoka, Greenwood 221. Nandronga & Navosa: Singa- toka Experiment Station, DA 5948. Ra: Penang, Greenwood 221A. Rewa: Department of Agriculture compound, Suva, DA 12187. KANDAVU: Western end of island, near Cape Washington, Smith 304. OVALAU: North of Levuka, Gillespie 4499. NGAU: Sawaieke, shore of Herald Bay, Smith 7933. TAVEUNI: Somosomo, Seemann 346; Waiyevo, Gillespie 4656.1. MATUKU: Bryan 285. LAKEMBA: Near Tumbou Jetty, Garnock-Jones 934. |