MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF WILD AND SEMI-DOMESTICATED PEPPERS IN MÉXICO’S HUASTECA REGION

Abstract

México, the Huasteca Region is found in the northeast of the country, covering the northern part of Veracruz, south of Tamaulipas, east of San Luis Potosí and northeast of Hidalgo; in its areas of natural vegetation there is an abundant variation of wild and semi-domesticated peppers (Capsicum spp.), among which the following groups predominate: piquín, piquín huasteco, chilpaya (Tabasco), pico de paloma (ozuluamero), mirador pico de pájaro and rayado. In a lower scale, there are variants of espinalteco and cuaresmeño jalapeños, chile de huerta and pajarito. Collections were made of the different biological types in order to characterize them morphologically; 102 accessions were identified and characterized from semi-domesticated and wild types that belonged to 10 racial groups, with two groups, piquín and piquín huasteco, standing out as a result of their abundance.