Is this a chili pepper? If it is, which one?

Question

I got some seeds, which are Cayenne pepper seeds I was told. I'm not so sure about it, but it has grown and started to produce fruit. Does anyone know whether this is really Cayenne, and/or is it safe to eat?

I have images of the flowers, the plant itself and the leaves.

Flower and fruit:

Plant:

Leaves:

Thanks in advance!

I would say: one from seed, so without precise variety. A mix. Large leaves, few fruits. — Giacomo Catenazzi, May 04 '18 at 13:44

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered May 04 '18 at 14:34

1

Plant looks healthy. Yes a chilli pepper - almost certainly a C.annum cultivar.

Might be a cayenne - I've never grown these so I don't know what the fruit initially look like, but it looks plausible (cayenne being long and thin).

Yes it is edible - all of the Capsicum cultivars are. As @Giacomo says, you're not going to know the variety. Wait until the fruit mature. Then going by look and taste, you should be able to identify the broad type - but the variety is unlikely unless you have a comparison.

answered May 04 '18 at 14:34

winwaed

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@really, my comment it is that it is not a variety (as something genetically stable). It is just a mix between varieties. BTW I'm more in direction with sweet peper (because of leaves and position of flowers). Possibly a mix between bell pepers and chili pepper. – Giacomo Catenazzi May 04 '18 at 14:49
To clarify, by 'chilli pepper' I am including sweet Capsicum peppers. Contrast with Piperaceae black pepper. – winwaed May 04 '18 at 14:54
No other way then, but to wait for them to ripen. I really hope it's something spicy. I have 8 chili plants like reapers, and ghost peppers, but I decided to give theese mystery seeds a try. – Puppetier May 05 '18 at 14:18

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered May 04 '18 at 20:44

I agree with @winwaed, it certainly looks like a pepper plant and all peppers are safe to eat. If 'you're told it was cayenne', that will be as close you're going to get as identifying the exact species I'm afraid. The fruits should be long, thin, and hanging downwards.

I've grown many dozens varieties of peppers, ordered from respected distributors, and even then on multiple occasions the pepper eventually turned out to be a different kind of species as ordered. (ie. scotch bonnet which turned out to be bishops crown, as we identified together with the distributor, by the partially purple flowers).

So if this is 'really cayenne' is impossible to say I'm afraid, but maybe that's not just that important... Just have fun growing them and give them a taste! :-)

Is this a chili pepper? If it is, which one?

2 Answers2