Where chillies come from

The Ignition Seeds chilli atlas

Where chillies come from

Spin the globe and pick a country to see which of our varieties trace back there. Every chilli started in the Americas. Turn on species homelands to see where each of the five domesticated species began.

0Varieties
0Origins
5Species

Drag to spin · click a country or pin · zoom in for the small Caribbean islands

Species
Heat
Layers
120 varieties from a country Origin pin Species homeland 1500s chilli trade routes The journey to Auckland today

Jump to an origin

How chillies travelled

  1. Prehistory

    Wild chillies grow across South America, with the earliest species centred on the Andes and Bolivia.

  2. 6,000+ years ago

    People in Mexico domesticate Capsicum annuum, the species behind jalapeños, poblanos and cayennes.

  3. 1493

    Columbus's return voyage brings chillies to Spain, and from there they spread around the Mediterranean.

  4. 1500s

    Portuguese traders carry them to Africa, India and on into Asia, where they quickly become part of local cooking.

  5. Today

    Growers in the UK, USA and Europe breed new super-hots such as Carolina Reaper and Dragon's Breath.

Grow a bit of the world

Every variety on the globe is in the Ignition Seeds range, grown and packed in Auckland.

Shop the full range

Origins are as listed on each product page. For modern varieties the origin is usually where the variety was bred, not where the species began.