This collection of thumbnails consists of various examples of chilies. Chilies originated in South and Central America. The Spanish and Portuguese explorers brought these intriguing fruits to Europe and Asia. Chilies are identified with many cuisines of the Equator...they have heat indexes based on Scoville units of heat from 0 on up to 400,000 units. Chilies are thought to be medicinal, and indeed have remarkable components- Capsicum- that give them the remarkable qualities.