Capsicum annuum is a domesticated species of the plant genus Capsicum

Capsicum

Capsicum is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Its species are native to the Americas where they have been cultivated for thousands of years, but they are now also cultivated worldwide, used as spices, vegetables, and medicines - and have become are a key element in...

native to southern North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 and northern South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

. The three species C. annuum, C. frutescens

Capsicum frutescens

Capsicum frutescens is a species of chili pepper that includes the following cultivar and varieties:*Piri piri, also called African Bird's Eye or African devil* Kambuzi pepper, Malawian pepper*Malagueta pepper*Tabasco pepper, used to make Tabasco sauce...

and C. chinense

Capsicum chinense

Capsicum chinense , commonly known as "Yellow Lantern Chili", is a species of Chilli Pepper native to The Americas. C. chinense chillies are well-known for their exceptional heat.-Taxonomy:...

all evolved from a single common ancestor located somewhere in the northwest Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 - Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

 area. This species is the most common and extensively cultivated of the five domesticated capiscums.
Although the species name annuum means “annual” (from the Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 annus “year”), the plant is not an annual

Annual plant

An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...

 and in the absence of winter frosts can survive several seasons and grow into a large perennial

Perennial plant

A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...

 shrub.