Capsicum mirum

Capsicum mirum is a wild Atlantic Forest species from São Paulo State, Brazil. It was formally published by Gloria E. Barboza in 2022 in PhytoKeys, with the holotype based on material collected on 26 February 2006 near Bananal, about 17 km south of the town on the road toward Sertão do Bocaina, at around 1150 m elevation.

The species was named from the Latin mirus, meaning wonderful or extraordinary, in reference to its colourful corolla and showy calyx. Modern monographic treatments describe it as morphologically close to Capsicum schottianum and identify it by its geniculate pedicels, five erect calyx appendages, and a narrow corolla tube about 6 mm in diameter. The leaves are membranous and discolorous, green above and lighter beneath, which adds to its delicate Atlantic Forest wild-pepper appearance.

Its flowers are one of its defining features. The corolla is stellate and brightly coloured, with greenish to yellowish markings in the throat and purplish-red spotting on the lobes, giving the plant a notably showy floral display for a wild Capsicum. The calyx is also conspicuous and remains one of the main structural traits used to recognise the species.

The fruit are pungent and mature to a greenish-golden yellow stage rather than red. They are described as somewhat irregular to spherical, with pale yellow seeds about 2.5 to 3.8 mm long. The combination of yellow translucent fruit, pale seeds, colourful corolla, and conspicuous calyx gives Capsicum mirum a distinct identity among the Atlantic Forest wild species.