The malagueta pepper is a variety of Capsicum frutescens widely used in Angola, Cape Verde, Brazil, Mozambique and Portugal.
It is also known by the following common names: piripíri, jindungo, guindia, cumarin (also spelled combarim and combari) and pimentinha. In Angola, Mozambique and Portugal, the smaller fruits are called piripíri and the larger ones malagueta. They are normally used dried to season meat.
The malagueta, like all other species of the genus Capsicum, is native to the tropical regions of the Americas.
The name malagueta was already given, before the arrival of Europeans in America in 1492, to a spicy spice from West Africa - the Guinea pepper (Aframomum melegueta). The spicy quality of certain varieties of Capsicum led the Europeans to name them malagueta.