Is green chilli a vegetable, a fruit or a spice?

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Green chilli, an essential part of our everyday cooking, perhaps in every Indian kitchen , is acutely missed in its absence. Though it's available in groceries in dried or powdered form, green chilli has a dominion of its own. I prefer the green one in all my curries or in my chow chow and omlette. Therefore, I always plant some of its saplings behind my kitchen. A month ago I brought twenty of green chilli saplings. I dug the soil, added cowdung manure and planted the saplings. I watered them and saved them from the unusual scorching heat of April. The plants have grown up to 2 feet, and some of them to 3 feet. Unfortunately, for some reason they have not born any fruit till now. No flowers too. Why ? I don't know. However, I hope they will yield the lovingly awaited fruit some time surely. Now, this question , is chilli a fruit, a vegetable or a spice has made me scratch my head. I can't eat it like mangoes or bananas. Neither can I have them like a vegetable dish. If I tried, it would set my total digestive tract on fire! The best use I have them is as a spice! Yet , botanically, it is said to be a fruit. Its scientific name is Capsicum frutescens and it is classified as a berry. ( That again makes my mind go dizzy, for we have berries here that we love to chew).