What is the difference between pepper and chili? A quick guide to telling the two apart

Pepper is also known as white pepper, black pepper, etc. It is a woody climbing vine in the order Piperales, family Piperaceae, genus Piper. It originated in Southeast Asia and is now widely cultivated in tropical regions. Chili is also known as lazi, lajiao, niujiaojiao, red sea pepper, chaotianjiao, etc. It is an annual or limited-perennial herbaceous plant in the family Solanaceae, genus Capsicum. Let us take a look below at what the differences between pepper and chili are!

The difference in family and genus between pepper and chili

1. Pepper: Pepper is a woody climbing vine in the plant kingdom, phylum Angiosperms, class Dicotyledons, subclass Archichlamydeae, order Piperales, family Piperaceae, genus Piper.

2. Chili: Chili is an annual or limited-perennial herbaceous plant in the plant kingdom, phylum Angiosperms, class Dicotyledons, order Solanales, family Solanaceae, genus Capsicum.

The morphological differences between pepper and chili

1. Pepper: The stems and branches of pepper are hairless, with noticeably swollen nodes that often produce small roots. The leaves are thick, nearly leathery, broadly ovate to ovate-oblong, rarely nearly round. The flowers are polygamous, usually monoecious, with inflorescences opposite the leaves, shorter than or equal to the leaves in length, and the peduncle nearly equal in length to the petiole. The berry is spherical, red when mature, and turns black after drying when immature. The flowering period is from June to October.

2. Chili: Chili grows 40-80 cm tall, with stems nearly hairless or slightly pubescent and branches slightly zigzagged. The leaves are alternate, and the nodes at the branch tips do not elongate, forming paired or clustered arrangements. The flowers are solitary, and the fruit is long and finger-shaped, tapering at the tip and often curved, green when immature and red, orange, or purplish-red when mature, with a spicy taste. The flowering and fruiting period is from May to November.

The difference in origin between pepper and chili

1. Pepper: Pepper originated in Southeast Asia. It is cultivated in Taiwan, China, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Yunnan provinces and regions in China. Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Brazil are the main exporting countries of pepper.

2. Chili: Chili originated in the tropical regions of Central and Latin America, with Mexico as its country of origin. In China, it is mainly distributed in Sichuan, Guizhou, Hunan, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Hebei, and Inner Mongolia, among other places.

The difference in medicinal effects between pepper and chili

1. Pepper: Pepper is pungent in taste and hot in nature, entering the stomach and large intestine meridians. It has the effects of warming the middle and dispelling cold, directing qi downward, and dissipating phlegm. It is mainly used for abdominal pain and diarrhea, poor appetite, epilepsy with excessive phlegm, and other conditions.

2. Chili: Chili is pungent in taste and hot in nature, entering the heart and spleen meridians. It has the effects of warming the middle and dispelling cold, and stimulating appetite and aiding digestion. It is mainly used for cold-stagnation abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea and dysentery, chilblains, and other conditions.