Varieties

Capsicum frutescens includes the following cultivars and/or varieties:

• Wiri Wiri, from Guyana ^[4]
• Cabai Rawit,^[5] from Indonesia,^[6][7] used in hot Sambal.
• Hawaiian pepper
• Malagueta pepper
• Piri piri, also called African Bird's Eye or African devil
• Siling Labuyo, from the Philippines.
• Shima tōgarashi, which means "island chili pepper," from Okinawa. It's used to make Kōrēgusu hot condiment.
• Tabasco pepper, used to make Tabasco sauce
• Xiao mi la pepper, literally "little rice pepper", from Yunnan province in China.

Hybrids and landraces

• Armageddon pepper (w/ C. chinense)

Ethiopia

Capsicum frutescens 'Hidalgo' flowers

According to Richard Pankhurst, C. frutescens (known as barbaré) was so important to the national cuisine of Ethiopia, at least as early as the 19th century, "that it was cultivated extensively in the warmer areas wherever the soil was suitable."^[10] Although it was grown in every province, barbaré was especially extensive in Yejju, "which supplied much of Showa as well as other neighbouring provinces". He singles out the upper Golima River valley as almost entirely devoted to cultivating this plant, where thousands of acres were devoted to the plant and it was harvested year-round.^[11]

India

This pepper is common in eastern and southern India where it grows readily in a favorable climate. It is known locally by various common names.^[12]

Philippines

Siling labuyo, the local cultivar of C. frutescens in the Philippines, developed from plants introduced during the Spanish colonial era. The fruits are widely used for making traditional dips (sawsawan), spiced vinegar (like sinamak), and condiments like palapa. They are also commonly added to various dishes. The leaves are also eaten as a leafy vegetable, most notably in the soup dish tinola.^{[13][14][15][16]}

Capsaicin, the main chemical substance responsible for the hot sensation