Cultivated Pepper Species

Jimmy Nardello peppers, a sweet, Italian frying pepper, belonging to the C. annuum species. These are roughly 8 inches long.

Cultivated Pepper Species

The Solanaceae or nightshade family includes many plants commonly grown in home gardens. Some plants are toxic, but many are grown for food including peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplant. Peppers belong to the Capsicum genus and tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplant belong to the Solanum genus.
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There are many species in the Capsicum genus but only 5-6 are generally cultivated in the United States, including C. annuum, C. baccatum C. chinense, C. frutescens, C. glabruisculum, and C. pubescens (1, 2). The majority of, and most familiar, peppers grown in the United States are C. annuum.

From left to right, Topik cherry peppers, early jalapeno, and Boldog Hungarian spice paprika peppers, all beloning to the C. annuum species.

C. annuum

​The C. annuum species includes some of the most common pepper varieties in the United States including bell peppers, jalapeno, poblano, serrano, cayenne, Anaheim/Hatch, Thai chili, and paprika peppers. These peppers originated in South America. Some of my favorite C. annuum peppers that may be less well known include Jimmy Nardello, a sweet Italian frying pepper that pairs well with Italian sausage, shishito, a Japanese variety best served blistered, and fish peppers, not just for their beautiful striped colors, their use in tasty fish stews, but also for their history in the African American community (3).

From left to right, a chocolate beauty bell pepper, shishito peppers, and a violet sparkle sweet pepper, all belonging to the C. annuum species.

C. baccatum

​Some of the C. baccatum varieties include the Aji peppers such as lemon drop aji and aji Amarillo, many of which are associated with Peru. This species also includes the bishop’s crown, Brazilian starfish, sugar rush peach, Nepalese Bell (aka Nepali), and sweet piquanté (Peppadew brand name) peppers. These peppers originated in South and Central America and can include interesting shapes. Many have a citrus flavor. I am growing both the lemon drop aji and the Nepalese bell peppers for the first time this year and both plants are significantly larger, close to 4 feet tall, than the C. annuum species. I have grown Brazilian starfish in the past and all three are slow to ripen compared to C. annuum. The first year growing the Brazilian starfish I did not get a single ripe pepper before frost (I am in zone 4) so I grew them in a pot the second year to bring them in under lights if needed. 

From left to right, ripe lemom drop aji peppers, a lemon drop aji bush much bigger than C. annuum pepper plants to its left, and a Nepalese bell pepper, all C. bacatuum species.

C. chinense

​The most well-known C. chinense varieties are the habanero types, including scotch bonnet, ghost peppers, 7 pot peppers, and Pepper X, the hottest pepper in the world. These peppers originated in South and Central America, not China as the name would suggest. Many of these peppers tend to have citrus or floral notes and wrinkled skin. Although these peppers are very popular, particularly for hot sauces, I have yet to grow these, because I prefer mild to medium spicy peppers.

C. frutescens

​C. frutescens species include the Tabasco pepper, piri-piri (aka peri-peri), and other less well-known varieties many from Asia (including the Philippines, Indonesia, China, and Japan) and some from Africa, although the species originated in South and Central America. Many of these pepper plants are smaller, shrub-like with small, upright facing peppers.

A yellow Corno di Toro (horn of the bull) C. annuum pepper, approximately 8 inches long. The red and yellow Corno di Toro are very sweet when ripe, very prolific, and one of my favorite sweet peppers.

C. glabruisculum

​The chiltepin pepper, native to Mexico, the southwest United States, and northern South America was formerly classified as a variety of C. annuum but has now been given its own species, C. glabrisculum. This pepper is tiny and very hot (usually between 50,000-100,000 but depending on the growing season may reach 250,000 Scoville Heat Units). I grew these mostly as a decorative pepper but also dried the ripe peppers to use as hot pepper flakes.

C. pubescens

The C. pubescens species originated in Bolivia and Peru and is probably the least well-known cultivated pepper variety. The more well-known varieties include the rocoto/locoto pepper and manzano/manzana pepper. These are small, apple-shaped peppers, similar to a small bell pepper but can have a decent amount of heat ranging from 30,000-100,000 SHU. These peppers are unique from the other cultivated species in that their flowers are purple instead of white for most other peppers, their foliage is hairy, their seeds are black, and they are more cold-tolerant.

Poblano peppers (left) and end of season green peppers (center and right), all C. annuum species. Our short growing season in zone 4 means we ususally end up with lots of green peppers at the end of the season.

References and Resources

1. Classifying Chile Peppers. Horticulture Update. Texas Cooperative Extension. Texas A&M University. 2007. https://aggie-hort.tamu.edu/newsletters/hortupdate/hortupdate_archives/2007/jul07/ClassifChilePeppers.html
2. The 5 Major Domesticated Pepper Species. Pepper Geek. https://peppergeek.com/capsicum-pepper-species/
3. Freeman, Debra. The Story of Fish Peppers, A Legacy of the African American Garden. 2021. https://www.epicurious.com/ingredients/fish-peppers-african-american-garden-article