Chili pepper
1 entry found.
Chili pepper
Common Name: Pepper, Ornamental Pepper, Chili pepper
Botanical Name: Capsicum annuum var. annuum (CAP-si-cum AN-you-um)
Decorative Life: Not applicable.
Harvest Instructions: Irrigating with water containing very low levels of chlorine (2-8 ppm) can cause significant growth reductions with some cultivars.
Family Roots:
- Member of the Solanaceae (nightshade family).
- Native to Central and South America.
- Common relatives include tobacco, eggplant, petunia, tomato and potato.
Personality:
- Glossy fruit, 1-3 inches long, round to elongated in shape, in loose clusters at stem ends.
- Leafy stems 6-8 inches long.
- Plant is an annual, classed as a dicotyledon, leaves not parallel veined.
Availability: Plants are sold mostly in the spring for planting in the garden.
Flower Color: Flower colors not applicable but fruit colors are yellow, orange, red, brown and/or purple.
Tidbits:
- From the Greek "kapto" (to bite) referring to the hot taste of some cultivars.
- The specific epithet name annuum means annual.
- This family has many poisonous members including the common weed, deadly nightshade, and the green skin of potatoes. On the other hand, it is a source of many commercial foods including potato, tomato, pepper and eggplant. Tobacco also is a member.