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Bell pepper is a cultivar group of the species Capsicum annuum. Colors include red, yellow, green and orange. Bell peppers contain a recessive gene that eliminates the capsaicin in the fruit meaning that they have none of the "heat" that many other varieties of peppers have. Bell peppers are sometimes grouped with less pungent pepper varieties as "sweet peppers".
The term "bell pepper" is one of the many names for some fruits of the Capsicum annuum species of plants. The misleading name "pepper" (pimentón in Spanish, literally "big pepper") was given by Christopher Columbus upon bringing the plant back to Europe. At that time peppercorns were a highly prized condiment.
Today, the term "bell pepper" or "green pepper" is often used for any of the large bell shaped capsicum fruits, regardless of their color. In British English, the fruit is simply referred to as a "pepper", whereas in many Commonwealth of Nations countries, such as India, Malaysia and Australia, they are called "capsicum". Across Europe, the term "paprika", which has its roots in the word for pepper, is used—sometimes referred to by their color (e.g. "groene paprika", "gele paprika", in Dutch, which are green and yellow, respectively). Paprika also refers to the powdered spice made from the same fruit. In the United States and Canada, the fruit is often referred to simply as a "pepper" or referred to by color (e.g. "red pepper", "green pepper"), although the more specific term "bell pepper" is understood in most regions.
In parts of the U.S. around southern Ohio and northern Kentucky the term "mangoes" (or "mangos") has sometimes been used to refer to bell peppers. However, as the actual mango fruit has become more common in the region, this usage has faded.
In Russia it is commonly called болгарский перец (bolgarskiy perets), meaning Bulgarian pepper. In France, it is called poivron, with the same root as poivre (meaning black pepper). In Denmark the bell pepper is referred to as "peberfrugt", meaning pepper-fruit.
The color can be green, red, yellow, orange and, more rarely, white, purple, blue, and brown, depending on when they are harvested and the specific cultivar. Green peppers are unripe bell peppers, while the others are all ripe, with the color variation based on cultivar selection. Because they are unripe, green peppers are less sweet and slightly more bitter than yellow, orange, or red peppers. The taste of ripe peppers can also vary with growing conditions and post-harvest storage treatment; the sweetest are fruit allowed to ripen fully on the plant in full sunshine, while fruit harvested green and after-ripened in storage are less sweet. Peppers are native to Central and South America. Pepper seeds were later carried to Spain in 1493 and from there spread to other European and Asian countries.
<gallery> Image:Greenpeppers.jpg|Green bell peppers Image:Capsicum1.jpg|A variety of colored bell peppers Image:Bell pepper cut apart.jpg|A red bell pepper cut in half Image:RedBellPepper.jpg|A whole red bell pepper Image:Purple bellpepper.jpg|A whole purple pepper </gallery>