"Goslowsky, George" wrote: > Hello all, > > I am in need of some advice. Yesterday I went to Exotic Harvest Nursery > for their selection of 'exotic' chiles. The woman there said, and firmly > believed, that chiles were not entirely native to the Americas. That there > was a strain of chile grew in China and migrated ("...are you suggesting > that coconuts are migratory?") to India. She was sure of this because that > is what she learned while obtaining her degree in Botany, 20 years ago. I > had thought that that theory was proven wrong. Am *I* wrong? Wouldn't be > the first time. > > Well, well! I never fail to be astounded at the ignorance of some of the > people who teach at colleges, both in this country, and the States. ALL > peppers, ALL tomatoes, ALL potatoes, and a host of other vegetables and > fruits are native to this New World....including that scourge of mankind, > tobacco. Peppers did not grow in China, but were introduced there, by the > Portugese, likely from India, where they had established colonies, early on. > The hot pepper indigenous to China is Zanthoxylum Piperitum, or Szechuan > Peppercorn(use your own spelling for that province of China....I happen to > prefer that one) This is historical fact, not hysterical rambling....BTW, I > am back, enjoyed the time off, but look out for another recipe for Ham, > Asparagus and Chiles over bowtie pasta, in a lemon(limon?) sauce! Cheers, > Doug in BC