Back to main Search Page

Capsicum annuum - L.

Sweet Pepper

Author	L.	Botanical references	200
Family	Solanaceae	Genus	Capsicum
Synonyms
Known Hazards	Pungent-fruited peppers may cause painful irritation when used in excess, or after accidental contact with the eyes[238]. Although no reports have been seen for this species, many plants in this family produce toxins in their leaves. The sap of the plant can cause the skin to blister[200].
Range	Probably native of the Tropics, but the original habitat is obscure.
Habitat	Not known in the wild.
Edibility Rating	4 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	3 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen Perennial growing to 1m by 1m.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid and very alkaline soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats

Cultivated Beds; South Wall By; West Wall By;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Flowers; Fruit; Leaves.

Edible Uses: Colouring; Condiment.

Fruit - raw or cooked[2, 33, 105, 132]. Some varieties are very hot (the chilli and cayenne peppers) and are normally used as a pungent flavouring whilst milder varieties (the sweet peppers) have a very pleasant flavour with a slight sweetness and are often eaten raw in salads etc[142, 238]. The dried fruits of chilli and cayenne peppers is ground into a powder and used as a pungent flavouring called paprika[238]. The powder from the dried ground fruit of some cultivars is added to food as a colouring[183]. The fruits range widely in size and shape, from a few centimetres long to more than 30cm[200]. Young leaves are said to be edible[105] but some caution is advised. They are steamed as a potherb or added to soups and stews[183]. The leaves contain about 4 - 6% protein[183]. Seed - dried, ground into a powder and used as a pepper[2]. Flowers - raw or cooked[201].

Medicinal Uses

Antihaemorrhoidal; Antirheumatic; Digestive; Irritant; Rubefacient; Sialagogue.

The fruit of the hot, pungent cultivars is antihaemorrhoidal when taken in small amounts, antirheumatic, antiseptic, diaphoretic, digestive, irritant, rubefacient, sialagogue and tonic[7, 238]. It is taken internally in the treatment of the cold stage of fevers, debility in convalescence or old age, varicose veins, asthma and digestive problems[238]. Externally it is used in the treatment of sprains, unbroken chilblains, neuralgia, pleurisy etc[238]. It is an effective sea-sickness preventative[7].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Requires a very warm sunny position and a fertile well-drained soil. Prefers a light sandy soil that is slightly acid[201]. Tolerates a pH in the range 4.3 to 8.3. Plants can tolerate a small amount of frost[171], but this species does not normally do well outdoors in an average British summer and so it is usually grown in a greenhouse in this country[1]. However, if a very warm sheltered position outdoors is chosen then reasonable crops could be obtained in good summers. This species is widely grown throughout the world, but especially in warm temperate to tropical climates, for its edible fruit - the sweet and chilli peppers. There are many named varieties[183]. There are five basic forms of fruits, each form having various varieties. These forms are:- Cerasiforme. These have small cherry-shaped pungent fruits. Conioides. These fruits are cone-shaped and up to 5cm long. Many of them are grown as ornamentals, but some are also cultivated for food.. Fasciculatum. Also cone-shaped, but with pungent red fruits up to 7.5cm long. Grossum. These are the sweet peppers with large bell-shaped fruits and thick flesh. Longum. These are the cultivated hot cayenne and chilli peppers with long thin fruits up to 30cm long. The pungency of peppers depends upon the presence of a single gene, cultivars that lack this gene are the sweet peppers[238]. A short-lived evergreen perennial in the tropics[200], though the plants are grown as annuals in temperate zones[188]. Sweet pepper plants are good companions for basil and okra[20, 201]. They should not be grown near apricot trees, however, because a fungus that the pepper is prone to can cause a lot of harm to the apricot tree[201].

Propagation

Seed - sow late winter to early spring in a warm greenhouse[138]. The seed usually germinates in 3 - 4 weeks at 20°c. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots of reasonably rich soil and grow them on fast. If trying them outdoors, then plant them out after the last expected frosts and give them the protection of a cloche or frame at least until they are established and growing away well.

Cultivars

There are many named varieties of this annual vegetable, with new forms being developed each year. At present there is not time to enter these in the database and it is recommended that you consult the book 'The Fruit and Vegetable Finder' which is updated regularly and can be obtained from libraries.

Links

Permaculture.info Details of this plant in the Permaculture.info project, a community plant and permaculture database.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[20] Riotte. L. Companion Planting for Successful Gardening. Garden Way, Vermont, USA. 1978 ISBN 0-88266-064-0
Fairly good.

[33] Organ. J. Rare Vegetables for Garden and Table. Faber 1960
Unusual vegetables that can be grown outdoors in Britain. A good guide.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[132] Bianchini. F., Corbetta. F. and Pistoia. M. Fruits of the Earth. 0
Lovely pictures, a very readable book.

[138] Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 3. Thompson and Morgan. 1989
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation.

[142] Brouk. B. Plants Consumed by Man. Academic Press 1975 ISBN 0-12-136450-x
Readable but not very comprehensive.

[171] Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[201] Allardice.P. A - Z of Companion Planting. Cassell Publishers Ltd. 1993 ISBN 0-304-34324-2
A well produced and very readable book.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

Readers Comments

Add a comment/link:

Discussion Monitor

To have posts to this page mailed to you enter your email address here:

(Your email address will not appear on the webpage or be passed on to third parties).