Phenotypic Characterization and Ethnobotanical Inventory of Chili Pepper (Capsicum spp.) Cultivars in Cebu Island, Philippines

Capsicum spp. (chili) is recognized as an economically-important spice, but cultivation and extensive production is not maximized due to farmers’ problem on classifying local vs. exotic cultivars. In the present investigation, samples (n = 24) of Capsicum spp. cultivars were collected from 3 major growing locations (Dalaguete, Alcoy and Cebu City) in Cebu Island, Philippines, and their morphological characters and its uses were evaluated. Twenty-seven (27) discrete morphological characters of Capsicum spp. were utilized to classify chili cultivars (Cluster Analysis) followed by Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to visualize the variability in the morphological data and relatedness among purportedly-different chili cultivars. Results show that the chili pepper of Cebu were mostly similar in terms of fruit type, fruit attachment, inflorescence characteristics and leaf attachment, while major variations were observed in leaf apices, leaf margins, leaf bases, and fruit shapes. Factor loadings show that first 2 principal components collectively explained 69.62% of the total variance, while cluster analysis revealed that leaf surface, inflorescence form, inflorescence type, stamen fusion, fruit shape, fruit orientation and stem form are usable characters that delineated two major clusters of chili pepper cultivars. Cebu’s chili pepper were widely used as a spice, as condiment, as vegetable, used in herbal medicine and as a good source of income to farmers. Future studies may focus on the utilization of other taxonomic markers to further resolve cultivar assignments and classification.

Keywords: chili peppers, Capsicum spp., morphology, ethnobotany, Cebu Island, Philippines