トウガラシの花は釣鐘のように下を向いて咲きます。果実は細長く、先の尖った筒状。上を向いて熟し、果皮が緑色から赤色へと変わります。
Red Pepper flowers bloom downward like a bell. The fruit is elongated and tubular with a pointed tip. It ripens upward, and the skin changes from green to red.
【仮名】トウガラシ, バンショウ
【和名】唐辛子, 蕃椒
【英名】Red Pepper, Chile Pepper
【学名】Capsicum annuum
【誕生】08/ 22, 10/ 12
【開花】06, 07, 08, 09, 10月
【花色】White
トウガラシ
トウガラシの概要
トウガラシはナス科の果菜類。熱帯では多年草、温帯では一年草です。8500年前には北米のメキシコで栽培が始まり、2000年前に中南米へ拡大。15世紀にイタリアの探検家クリストファー・コロンブスが欧州に伝え、16世紀に宣教師らが日本に伝えるなどして、世界中に広がりました。
トウガラシの名前
トウガラシの名前は「外国由来で辛味のある子実」といった意味です。英名のペッパーの由来は新大陸から欧州に持ち帰ったコロンブスが「胡椒」と誤認したため。ラテン語の属名カプシカムは「袋」という意味で果実の形状に由来します。種小名アンヌムは「一年草の」という意味。
トウガラシの姿形
トウガラシの茎はよく分岐し、下から木質化。葉は互生で柄が長く、卵状披針形です。花は白色で、花被が５～７裂、雄しべが５～７本、雌しべが突出。釣鐘のように下を向いて咲きます。花後の果実は細長く、先の尖った筒状。上を向いて熟し、果皮が緑色から赤色へと変わります。
トウガラシの利用
トウガラシの辛味成分カプサイシンは、皮膚や粘膜に触れると炎症を起こす一方、血行をよくして身体を温めたり、唾液の分泌を促して消化吸収を助けたり、中枢神経を刺激して代謝を高める働きも。野菜や香辛料のほか、生薬「蕃椒」として神経痛や食欲不振などにも用いられます。
Red Pepper
Red Pepper is a fruit vegetable in the Solanaceae family. It is a perennial plant in the tropics and an annual plant in temperate regions. It was first cultivated in Mexico in North America 8,500 years ago, and its cultivation spread to Central and South America 2,000 years ago. It was introduced to Europe by the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus in the 15th century. Then, missionaries introduced it to Japan in the 16th century. In this way, it spread throughout the world.
The Japanese name for Red Pepper means “foreign-origin, pungent fruit.” The English name comes from the fact that Columbus, who brought it back to Europe from the New World, mistook it for “pepper.” The Latin genus name Capsicum means “bag” and is derived from the shape of the fruit. The specific name annuum means “annual.”
The stems of Red Pepper are well branched and woody from the bottom. The leaves are alternate, long-stalked, and egg-lanceolate. The flowers are white, with 5-7 lobes in the perianth, 5-7 stamens, and protruding pistils. They bloom downward like a bell. The fruit after flowering is elongated and tubular with a pointed tip. It ripens facing upward, and the skin changes from green to red.
The spicy component of Red Pepper, capsaicin, causes inflammation when it comes into contact with the skin or mucous membranes, but it also improves blood circulation, warms the body, promotes saliva secretion to aid digestion and absorption, and stimulates the central nervous system to increase metabolism. In addition to being used as a vegetable and spice, it is also used as a herbal medicine to treat neuralgia and loss of appetite.
