Capsicum recurvatum

Capsicum recurvatum is a wild Brazilian species first published by Johanna Witasek in 1910. It is part of the Atlantic Forest clade and is endemic to south and south-eastern Brazil, recorded from Minas Gerais, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Santa Catarina and São Paulo. It is associated with the Mata Atlântica and also occurs in high-altitude open grassland and bushy upland habitats, commonly above 900 m.

It grows as an erect shrub, commonly about 1.5 to 4 m tall. The leaves are green, with darker upper surfaces and paler undersides, and can range from nearly glabrous to moderately or densely pubescent. Inflorescences are axillary and usually bear 2 to 4 flowers per axil. The flowers are carried on geniculate pedicels, giving them the bent, angled presentation that is one of the species' more distinctive structural traits.

The flowers are white with greenish-yellow spotting, sometimes with additional purplish tones in the lobes, and the buds are globose and inflated. The corolla is about 11 mm across. One of the most recognisable features of this species is the calyx, which bears 5 to 9, sometimes up to 10, teeth that are curved backward and may vary in size or become reduced. That recurved calyx dentition is the feature behind the species name and is one of the clearest morphological markers used to recognise it.

The fruit is a small globose berry about 7 to 9 mm across. It begins green and ripens to a greenish-golden yellow, often becoming almost translucent at full maturity. The berries are described as very pungent when immature, becoming less hot, sweeter and juicier as they ripen. This combination of small yellow ripe fruit, bent flower stalks, and recurved calyx teeth gives Capsicum recurvatum a very distinct identity within the wild Brazilian species complex.