Since then they have proven so popular that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of new cultivars, just as Florida oranges is a cultivar created in Florida, even though the genus Citrus is believed to have originated in Southeast Asia.

So I imagine that พริกขี้หนู and many other cultivars are local to the Thailand/Southeast Asia region, even if the parent species were initially introduced via foreign trade.

I think you’ve hit the nail on the head with พริกไทย. It stands to reason that prior to the introduction of Capsicum varieties, พริก simply referred to Piper nigrum, or black pepper, which is native to India and has probably been present in Southeast Asia for thousands of years.

The Thai word for tomato is มะเขือเทศ. The มะเขือ part means egg plant (in the belladonna or nightshade family as is the tomato) and the เทศ part means “foreign”. So มะเขือเทศ is foreign egg plant, or foreign nightshade.

And I am sure tomatoes were introduced by Europeans since they brought tomatoes back from the Americas. They may also have brought back the quintessential Thai food, chilies.

The Thai chili or พริกขี้หนู (aka bird’s eye chili) may also be from South America (there are some disagreements) which is maybe the reason why black pepper (which does come from SE Asia) is called พริกไทย or “Thai pepper” to distinguish its origins.

Pikun just came home so that’s it for now.