Chillies (capsicum annuum l. and capsicum frutescens) Chillies are the most widely cultivated species throughout the world. The pungency of the capsicum pods is due to a crystalline substance known as capsaicin. In the milder types of C. annuum the capsaicin content is very low, but in the hotter varieties of C. frutescens the fruits may contain from o,2 to 1 % of this highly pungent ingredient, concentrated mainly in the thin tissues of the placental region where the seeds are attached to the spongy central portion.