Taxonomy

The five Capsicum species

Almost every chilli you'll meet belongs to one of five domesticated species. Browse them here, with their varieties — and sub-varieties nested beneath their parent.

Capsicum annuum

77 varieties

The most widely grown species — bell peppers, jalapeños, cayennes and most everyday chillies.

Domesticated in Mexico and now by far the most widely grown of the five, annuum covers almost everything you meet in a supermarket: bell peppers and pimentos at zero heat, then poblano, padrón, jalapeño, serrano, cayenne and the paprika chillies. Heat runs from nothing to roughly 50,000 SHU, and pods are usually borne singly on a compact, bushy plant. It is the easiest group to grow in the UK — quick to germinate, quick to ripen, and reliable in an unheated greenhouse or a sunny windowsill.

Capsicum baccatum

12 varieties

South American “ají” peppers — distinctive, often fruity and citrusy.

The ají peppers of Peru, Bolivia and Argentina, and the backbone of South American cooking. Baccatum is the easiest species to identify in flower: the corolla carries distinctive tan or yellow-green spots that none of the others have. Flavour is the draw — bright, fruity and often frankly citrusy, as in Aji Amarillo, Lemon Drop and the odd-shaped Bishop's Crown — with heat usually in the 10,000–50,000 SHU range. Plants grow tall and sprawling and want a long season, so sow early.

Capsicum chinense

36 varieties

Home of the superhots — habaneros, Scotch bonnets, ghosts and reapers.

Despite the name — given in error by Nikolaus von Jacquin, who believed the plants came from China — chinense originates in the Amazon basin and the Caribbean. It is the superhot species: habanero, Scotch bonnet, Bhut Jolokia, the Trinidad scorpions and the Carolina Reaper, most of them from 100,000 SHU upwards. What sets it apart is that the heat arrives with a genuinely floral, apricot-like aroma rather than in spite of it. Seeds germinate slowly and the season is long, so UK growers should sow in January or February and expect to ripen under cover.

Capsicum frutescens

5 varieties

Compact, prolific bird's-eye types — Tabasco and piri-piri.

A smaller group built around slender, upward-pointing pods carried in profusion on a neat, well-branched plant — Tabasco, African bird's eye and the piri-piri chillies of Portuguese-speaking Africa. Heat is sharp and fast-arriving, typically somewhere between 30,000 and 175,000 SHU depending on the type, with a cleaner, less fruity profile than chinense. The compact habit and sheer pod count make frutescens a good choice for a pot, and the small pods dry and flake well.

Capsicum pubescens

2 varieties

Hardy, hairy-leaved rocoto and manzano peppers with black seeds.

The odd one out, and unmistakable once you know the signs: black seeds, purple flowers and the hairy (pubescent) leaves that give the species its name. Rocoto and manzano peppers come from the Andean highlands, which makes pubescens far more tolerant of cool, damp conditions than the rest — it will keep going into a British autumn and can be overwintered as a perennial for several years. The thick, apple-crisp flesh carries a 30,000–100,000 SHU heat. It does not readily cross with the other four species.

See heat instead on the Scoville scale, or browse everything in the variety index.