ulupica pepper

Capsicum eshbaughii is a perennial shrub or subshrub reaching 1–3 m (3.3–9.8 ft) in height. Stems are pale green when young and become grayish or light brown with age, often branching near the base and covered in a dense layer of glandular hairs that give the plant a slightly sticky texture. The leaves occur in pairs and are ovate, thin, and softly pubescent on both surfaces, appearing bright green above and grayish beneath. The flowers are small and star-shaped, usually white with faint purple or greenish spots near the throat. Each flower has ten slender calyx appendages—a key feature distinguishing the species from other Bolivian wild peppers. The anthers are pale yellow, and the style is slightly longer than the stamens, with a rounded green stigma. Fruits are small, spherical berries about 6–8 mm (0.24–0.31 in) in diameter that ripen from dark green to bright red. They are pungent, thick-walled, and contain 8–20 yellowish seeds with a faintly reticulate surface pattern. The fruiting calyx remains attached after ripening, another characteristic trait of the species.

Capsicum eshbaughii is endemic to central Bolivia, where it occurs mainly in the Department of Santa Cruz, with one recorded collection from the Department of Cochabamba. It grows at mid-elevations between approximately 1,300 and 1,800 m (4,300 and 5,900 ft), occasionally up to 3,000 m (9,800 ft). The species inhabits semi-deciduous foothill forest, scrubland, and high-valley slopes near the southern margins of Amboró National Park, including the municipalities of Samaipata and Mairana. These areas form transitional ecotones between the Andean cloud-forest belt and the drier inter-Andean valleys of central Bolivia.