thumb|Chili peppers of varied colours and sizes: green [[Bird's eye chili|bird's eye, yellow Madame Jeanette, red cayenne ]]
Chili peppers, also spelled chile or chilli ( ), are varieties of berry-fruit plants from the genus Capsicum, which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for their pungency (spicy heat). They are used as a spice to add pungency in many cuisines. Capsaicin and the related capsaicinoids give chili peppers their intensity when ingested or applied topically. Chili peppers exhibit a range of heat and flavors. This diversity is the reason behind the availability of different types of chili powder, each offering its own taste and heat level.<!--lead is only a summary of cited text below, do not add anything "new" up here, thanks-->
Chili peppers originated in Central or South America and were first cultivated in Mexico. European explorers brought chili peppers back to the Old World in the late 16th century as part of the Columbian exchange, which led to the cultivation of multiple varieties across the world for food and traditional medicine. Five Capsicum species have been widely cultivated: annuum, baccatum, chinense, frutescens, and pubescens.<!--lead is only a summary of cited text below, do not add anything "new" up here, thanks-->
History
Origins
Capsicum plants originated in modern-day Peru and Bolivia, and have been a part of human diets since about 7,500 BC.<!----> They are one of the oldest cultivated crops in the Americas. and independently across different locations in the Americas including highland Peru and Bolivia, central Mexico, and the Amazon. They were among the first self-pollinating crops cultivated in those areas. The largest diversity of wild Capsicum peppers is consumed in Bolivia. Bolivian consumers distinguish two basic forms: ulupicas, species with small round fruits including C. eximium, C. cardenasii, C. eshbaughii, and C. caballeroi landraces; and arivivis with small elongated fruits including C. baccatum var. baccatum and C. chacoense varieties. The name of the plant is unrelated to that of the country Chile. The three primary spellings are chili (common in North America), chile (Central America and parts of the US) and chilli (United Kingdom and former British colonies). The specific dish name "chili con carne" is normally written with one "l" in both American and British English.
Distribution to Europe
When Christopher Columbus and his crew reached the Caribbean, they were the first Europeans to encounter Capsicum fruits. They called them "peppers" because, like black pepper (Piper nigrum), which had long been known in Europe, they have a hot spicy taste unlike other foods. Chilies were first brought back to Europe by the Spanish, who financed Columbus's voyages, at the start of the large-scale interchange of plants and culture between the New World and the Old World called the Columbian exchange. Chilies appear in Spanish records by 1493. Unlike Piper vines, which grow naturally only in the tropics, chilies could be grown in temperate climates. By the mid-1500s, they had become a common garden plant in Spain and were incorporated into numerous dishes. By 1526, they had appeared in Italy, in 1543 in Germany, and by 1569 in the Balkans, where they came to be processed into paprika.
Distribution to the rest of the world
The rapid introduction of chilies to Africa and Asia was likely through Portuguese and Spanish traders in the 16th century, though the details are unrecorded. The Portuguese introduced them first to Africa and Arabia, and then to their colonies and trading posts in Asia, including Goa, Sri Lanka, and Malacca. From there, chilies spread to neighboring regions in South Asia and western Southeast Asia via local trade and natural dispersal. Around the same time, the Spanish also introduced chilies to the Philippines, where they spread to Melanesia, Micronesia, and other Pacific Islands via their monopoly of the Manila galleons. Their spread to East Asia in the late 16th century is less clear, but was likely also through local trade or through Portuguese and Spanish trading ports in Canton, China, and Nagasaki, Japan. The earliest known mention of the chili pepper in Chinese writing dates to 1591, though the pepper is thought to have entered the country in the 1570s.
Producing chili peppers
Cultivation
Chili peppers are the shiny, brightly coloured fruits of species of Capsicum. Botanically they are berries. The plants are small, depending on variety, making them suitable for growing in pots, greenhouses, or commercially in polytunnels. The plants are perennial<!--yes, even C. annuum-->, provided they are protected from cold. The fruits can be green, orange, red, or purple, and vary in shape from round and knobbly to smooth and elongated. If the fruits are picked green and unripe, more flowers develop, yielding more fruit; fruits left on the plant can become hotter in taste, and acquire their ripe coloration, at the price of a reduced harvest. The seeds germinate only when warm, close to . The flowers can self-pollinate. However, at extremely high temperatures, , pollen loses viability, and its flowers are much less likely to result in fruit. For flowering, Capsicum is a non-photoperiod-sensitive crop.
Chilies are vulnerable to pests including aphids, glasshouse red spider mite, and glasshouse whitefly, all of which feed on plant sap.
<gallery mode=packed caption="Drying chilies">
File:Chillies drying in Kathmandu.jpg|Chili peppers drying in Kathmandu, Nepal
File:Andhra Chillies.jpg|Guntur chilli drying in the sun, Andhra Pradesh, India
File:Red chili peppers Mesilla NM.jpg|New Mexico chiles dried on the plant in Mesilla, New Mexico
</gallery>
<gallery mode="packed" heights="160">
File:Sundried chilli.jpg|Sundried chili at Imogiri, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
File:Ristras Drying.jpg|alt=Chili peppers drying in hanging ristras|Ristras of chili peppers drying in Arizona
File:Mujer chiles 3.JPG|Removing seeds and pith from dried chilies in San Pedro Atocpan, Mexico
File:Chipotlestipicos.jpg|Smoke-dried chipotle
</gallery>
Products include whole dried chilies, chili flakes, and chili powder, Fresh or dried chilies are used to make hot sauce, a liquid condiment—usually bottled for commercial use—that adds spice to other dishes. Dried chilies are used to make chili oil, cooking oil infused with chili.
<gallery mode=packed heights=160 caption="Products">
File:Inle Lake, Dried red chili (chilli) pepper, Capsicum annuum, Myanmar.jpg|Dried chili pepper flakes, Myanmar
File:India - Kolkata 2 - 24 - New Market spice shops (3504585620).jpg|Chili powder, India
Hot Sauce Selection At La Whole Food Store (84224397).jpeg|Brands of hot sauce, California
File:Homemade Chili Oil (28909017356).jpg|Chili oil
</gallery>
Production
{| class="wikitable floatright" style="width:12em; text-align:center;"
|+ Green chili peppers<br><br/>
|-
| || 17.3
|-
| || 5.3
|-
| || 3.4
|-
| || 3.2
|-
| || 3.0
|-
| || 1.5
|-
| || 1.1
|-
| World || 44.8
|-
|colspan=2|
|}
In 2024, world production of green chillies and peppers (as any Capsicum or Pimenta fruits) was 45 million tonnes, with China accounting for 39% of the total and India with 12% (table). Global production of dry chillies and peppers in 2024 was 5.5 million tonnes, led by China, Thailand, and Bangladesh, each accounting for over 300,000 tonnes.
Species and cultivars
Species of Capsicum that produce chili peppers are shown on the simplified phylogenetic tree, with examples of cultivars: The World Vegetable Center has one of the largest collection of chili peppers in the world. It has researched climate change resistant cultivars.
<gallery mode="packed" caption="Cultivars">
File:A Fat Red Cayenne Pepper.jpg|Cayenne peppers, a cultivar of Capsicum annuum
File:Tabasco peppers.JPG|Tabasco peppers, a cultivar of Capsicum frutescens, fruits pointing upwards
File:Habanero chile - fruits (aka).jpg|Habanero peppers, a cultivar of Capsicum chinense
File:Cubanelle Peppers.jpg|Cubanelle peppers,<br/>United States
File:HotPeppersinMarket.jpg|Scotch bonnets,<br/>Caribbean
File:Phrik haeng.jpg|Bird's eye chilies,<br/>Thailand
File:청양고추3.jpg|Cheongyang peppers,<br/>South Korea
</gallery>
<gallery mode="packed" heights=160><!--upright-->
File:Black pearl cultivar.jpg|Black Pearl cultivar of C. annuum
File:Pimientos choriceros.jpg|Choricero,<br/>Spain
File:Chili peppers cultivated in Myanmar.jpg|Purple chilies,<br/>Myanmar
</gallery>