How To Identify Different Types Of Pepper Plants
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Do you have a pepper plant, but aren’t sure what type it is? We’ve been there before, forgetting to label a plant, or losing the seed packet. It happens.
There are many types of pepper plants. From small, dwarf varieties, to the massive, super-hot varieties, the diversity is amazing.
Identifying an exact pepper cultivar is basically impossible without knowing the seed source. However, honing in on the species can help narrow it down. Thankfully, there are some distinguishing traits between the different pepper species to help you figure out what type of plant you have.
Looking for more pictures? Browse the different pepper varieties (w/pictures) we have reviewed here.
Look At The Flowers
Pepper flowers vary widely from one variety to the next. They can be large, small, have 6 or more petals, or as few as 4, be purple, or white. However, there are a few standout characteristics that may help narrow down the pepper plant.
- Purple flowers are most likely C. annuum or C. pubescens. The annuum species sort of has it all. Purple flowers, white flowers, variegated leaves, dark foliage, big pods, small chilies, and more. If the flowers on your pepper plant are purple, it is probably a C. annuum type, but could also be the rarer C. pubescens.
- Flowers with green spots are C. baccatum. This is perhaps the most obvious distinguishing trait in pepper flowers. C. baccatum flowers always have a white corolla with pale green or yellow spots.
While a unique flower can definitely help narrow things down, many pepper flowers are just ordinary and white. In this case you can turn to other parts of the plant to help identify the type of pepper.
Compare The Leaves
If the flowers on your plant are plain white (most varieties are), then you’ll have to inspect the foliage next. Different species have leaves that can easily be distinguished.
C. annuum leaves
The C. annuum species is likely the most popular and diverse in the world. While the leaf size can vary widely from tiny to very large, the shape and texture is usually fairly consistent. Look for slender, flat leaves with fewer small veins.
C. baccatum leaves
The C. baccatum leaves are not very distinguished, and can vary from slender to broad. However, they are typically flat, with more abundant small veins than C. annuum types.
C. chinense leaves
It is most likely your plant comes from either the C. annuum or C. chinense species. Thankfully, these two are easy to tell apart just by the foliage. C. chinense plants will have large, broad leaves that grow very bushy from a young age. The leaves also have a “mottled” look, with many more bumps along the surface.
C. pubescens leaves
If you happen to have a C. pubescens or rocoto pepper plant, the leaves will be easy to identify. After all, the species got its name from the “pubescent” or hairy appearance of the foliage. Look for furry leaves, stems, and flower stems on all C. pubescens types!
If your plant has dark foliage, that can be another indicator of the species. C. annuum and C. chinense plants are known to have dark foliage varieties. C. pubescens and C. baccatum leaves are always green. C. pubescens may have purpling along veins.
Foliage can only take you so far in terms of identification. The only step left is to wait for a pepper to form on the plant. Even with a ripe fruit, identification of a specific cultivar is still practically impossible. However, you can make an educated guess based on several characteristics.
Try The Fruits
It may take more time, but you will probably need to allow your plants to fruit to identify the most likely pepper type. There are thousands of different cultivars, so the only way to know for sure is to know where the seeds came from.
Appearance and Growth Habit
There are countless shapes and sizes of different peppers. From the blocky bell pepper, to long and slender cayennes, to the berry-like aji charapita. Some pods have wrinkly skin (many C. chinense types), while others are perfectly smooth.
Another distinguishing factor is the growth habit. Some plants have upward-growing peppers, where the fruits point straight up to the sky. This is fairly common in both C. annuum and C. frutescens, but uncommon in other species.
Flavor, Aroma, and Heat
One of the best methods of identifying pepper plant types is to smell and taste the fruits. Each species has its own unique flavor, and once you get used to them all, it’s fairly easy to tell them apart!
- C. annuum peppers often have a sweet, fresh, and vegetal flavor. Spicier, chili-types (such as cayennes or Thai peppers) can be described as smoky and dark, but rarely flowery.
- C. chinense peppers can be some of the hottest in the world, so handle and taste with care! The flavors are also very distinguished from all other types, with a floral, sometimes fruity and citrusy flavor. Some types can be extremely flowery, with some comparing the taste to potpourri. Next time you’re at the supermarket, get a habanero and a jalapeño to compare the smell and flavor.
- C. baccatum peppers are fruity and bright, with most peppers having thick walls and a crunchy texture. Heat can range from mild to very hot.
- C. pubescens peppers are usually medium spicy, while the peppers are fruity and softer in texture. The seeds of C. pubescens plants are also black, another unique trait of the species.
Want more? Check out the different types of jalapeño peppers here. I hope this article helps you to get better at identifying different pepper plants. However, always remember that world of peppers is vast, and no two varieties are exactly the same!
Calvin
One of the original Pepper Geeks! When Calvin isn’t gardening or learning more about peppers and botany, he might be traveling new places or playing some music.
A friend gifted me with a bowl of beautiful, sweet peppers that she grew from a packet labeled “poblanos” that turned out to be nothing of the kind (mislabeled, obviously). Neither of us can ID–they look like shishitos but deep cherry red– lobed, small and slightly “wrinkly.” The one pepper that fits the description (a Turkish heirloom variety) comes in at 2″ x 4″ long. These peppers are consistently half that size (so truly like shishito in that respect). Lovely and sweet, thin-walled. Can send photo if helpful. Does this ring a bell?
Well, it could be shishito, as they do ripen to red! Shishitos are very popular now, we’ve seen plants at big-box stores for growing them
I went to a seed exchange last year and found a seed that was called “Peru: The Mother Pepper’, I was only able to get a few seeds and they didn’t fair very well. I went back to the seed exchange this year and the person wasn’t there and no one had such a seed. Question. Have you ever heard of such a seed and if so, will you send me a link to get some of these seeds. I’m very interested in attempting to try it again, if I can find therm. Thanks in advance.
I have not heard that specific nomenclature, but I imagine it was something similar to the chiltepin pepper. They’re believed to be one of the original chilies
I started my own peppers this year. Some are doing well but some are growing but not flowering. In fact some are 3 times the size of the producing plants. I was wondering is some of the seeds were a cross breed that does not flower. Is this possible
I bought a pepper plant from a guy and he doesn’t know what specific kind it is. The plant is around a foot tall and it has around 10 tear drop/cone shaped (around 1 inch in length) fruits already. All pointing upwards with some white color from the base up to around a third of the fruit blending into pure purple at the tip. It looks like Bolivian Rainbow but I might have to wait for some to turn orange/red to confirm. I can also send pictures of it if anyone can help identify this pepper.
Try posting a picture on our subreddit
@peppergeek, Thanks.
I need habanero red hot paper
I just started growing Aji dulce / Cachucha peppers from seed. Favorite type of pepper in many Caribbean foods. Very flavorful, but not any heat from the related Habaneros. Definitely worth putting in the garden.
We bought seeds for these and grew them out, only to find they were not true dulce peppers – maybe next season!
Hi, I bought seeds as aleppo pepper, but the peppers from my plant are very, very hot. I wonder if the seeds were from another plant. I could send you a picture of the pepper.
I have an odd one my wife got for me from Wal-Mart. It just says “Chilis – Hot – Patio”. The plant has leaves resembling the C. annuum and bears 3 distinct fruits: a larger (~2-3″) green, smooth pepper with some heat and a pleasant flavour; a smaller (~1″) smooth, rounded red fruit with a small point on the end (like a Hershey’s Kiss kind of shape), and what looks like the second kind but just wrinkly. The smooth red is hotter than the green, and the wrinkled red are pretty darned hot.
Having a heck of a time working this one out so if you have any thoughts I’m all ears 🙂
I bought a 6 pack of plants from a local nursery marked “tepin chile” but as the plants grew, I noticed that one of them was different from the others. It has slightly fuzzy leaves and very fuzzy stems, white flowers, downward oriented inch-long fruit that turns from green to red. The fruit actually looks nearly identical to the ones on the tepin, except the tepin pods grow upward.
Always an oddball! That seems very cool though
I am trying to identify a pepper in my garden. (I cannot find the plastic marker; I know I planted it with the plant!!!) The peppers are light yellow, with smooth, firm, thick skin. They are kind of shaped like a jalapeno, but larger. They are hot. I have pictures. Thanks!
Sounds like some type of hot wax chili pepper!