plant Can you ID this Pepper Plant?
- Thread starter Manzano
- Start date
yes, it is a goatsweed. i have several and consider it my house pepper. i have one that is several years old. the plant is a true perennial and lives along time.
it has beautiful olive green foliage and the branches develop this nice white furry growth. as you are noticing the pods start out brilliant green, then turn shiny jet black, only to turn once again to a brilliant bright red. once your pods turn that bright red colour you can harvest the fruit and keep the seeds for future years or trades.
the goatsweed needs little care with only the occasional mild fertilizing. i made the mistake of over fertilizing one year along with over misting 2 plants survived and 1 died within days. this happened when they were coming out of an overwintering cycle.
now, one of the neat things about the goatsweed is the pinching of the newer leaves. this plant just loves to have its newer growth pinched.the pinching causes a new branching effect. the first time you pinch and see the results, it will become second nature for you and everytime you look at a goatsweed it will be inherent to you - you won't be able to stop yourself ....... "must pinch leaves".
so to pinch, look for the new growth that is clovering. 4 leaves across from one another. take the larger of the leaves using under the younger leaves and pinch them off. now you will be left with just the 2 young leaves. in about 2 weeks time you will notice this branching effect and within a month you will see the results as the branch grows. you can do this both on the lower leaves on the main stem or on the top branching portions. again, once you start this process, you will just know what to do.
oh and i should add, i haven't come across a hotter annuum and i have tried thai dragon, jwala, suryanki cluster and other various forms of red annuum types(i have read about a Mem jolokia pepper from india that might pack more of a punch but i haven't run across it). the flavour is like an intense cayenne, so you won't be saying "oh, what a nice fruity flavour", the heat will quickly overwhelm your mouth like acid was just poured in your mouth. will notice the very pungent flavour and aroma with may linger on your palette for awhile. i usually sweat from the back of my head all the way to the base of my skull with this pepper, my lips tend to burn. the heat effect usually last a good 20 - 30 minutes.
i use this pepper in soups, stews and stir fry. powdering is also another good option.
good luck and have fun with goatsweed.
it has beautiful olive green foliage and the branches develop this nice white furry growth. as you are noticing the pods start out brilliant green, then turn shiny jet black, only to turn once again to a brilliant bright red. once your pods turn that bright red colour you can harvest the fruit and keep the seeds for future years or trades.
the goatsweed needs little care with only the occasional mild fertilizing. i made the mistake of over fertilizing one year along with over misting 2 plants survived and 1 died within days. this happened when they were coming out of an overwintering cycle.
now, one of the neat things about the goatsweed is the pinching of the newer leaves. this plant just loves to have its newer growth pinched.the pinching causes a new branching effect. the first time you pinch and see the results, it will become second nature for you and everytime you look at a goatsweed it will be inherent to you - you won't be able to stop yourself ....... "must pinch leaves".
so to pinch, look for the new growth that is clovering. 4 leaves across from one another. take the larger of the leaves using under the younger leaves and pinch them off. now you will be left with just the 2 young leaves. in about 2 weeks time you will notice this branching effect and within a month you will see the results as the branch grows. you can do this both on the lower leaves on the main stem or on the top branching portions. again, once you start this process, you will just know what to do.
oh and i should add, i haven't come across a hotter annuum and i have tried thai dragon, jwala, suryanki cluster and other various forms of red annuum types(i have read about a Mem jolokia pepper from india that might pack more of a punch but i haven't run across it). the flavour is like an intense cayenne, so you won't be saying "oh, what a nice fruity flavour", the heat will quickly overwhelm your mouth like acid was just poured in your mouth. will notice the very pungent flavour and aroma with may linger on your palette for awhile. i usually sweat from the back of my head all the way to the base of my skull with this pepper, my lips tend to burn. the heat effect usually last a good 20 - 30 minutes.
i use this pepper in soups, stews and stir fry. powdering is also another good option.
good luck and have fun with goatsweed.
Holy crap, I was about to post the exact same pepper. I have a picture that looks almost identical to yours. One of my plants was a goastweed, but I lost the marker for the pot. Sweet, thanks.
Thanks Burning Colon! It's post like yours that make me love this forum. I'm excited to see what this Goat Weed can do and am interested in trying to make it last a few years. I'll pinch the new leaves and can't wait to bite into one of the peppers once they turn Red. 
thanks again for the info!
thanks again for the info!
check back in with us in about 3 weeks and tells us about your pinching experience, again with this plant it is addictive. you will be like a ladybug hunting for aphids, just all over the plant looking for new growth to pinch. as soon as i saw the clover leaf on your main stem, i got smudge marks on my computer screen, then i realized it was just a picture. damn!
the colours are brilliant and unforgetable. just remember the shininess of the pods.
another annuum that is quite rememberable is the kung pao plant. my first experience was with a tall lanky plant. i kept saying is this stupid thing ever going to do anything. tall with large leaves and no flowers. then all of a sudden, out of no where, these large umbrella like flowers appeared. large and white. in contrast with the goatsweed that are smaller with the pointy star like flower, you notice the bell, umbrella shape of the kung pao flower and did i mention.... large and white. so different is the fruit of the kung pao that it gives you these long 3-4 inch long pods but not shiny like the goatsweed but a duller red but long and thin. for stir fries, the kung pao is my preferred pod to use, i have almost ruined a stir fry using goatsweed pods, i say "almost ruined", if anyone else had to eat the stir fry, they would have just walked away, saying it was just stupid hot, but me..... suffering through a pork, tofu stir fry with burning lips, dripping eyes, flowing nose and soaking neck line, forcing myself to continue on, is all part of the course.
................who said annuums where boring.
the colours are brilliant and unforgetable. just remember the shininess of the pods.
another annuum that is quite rememberable is the kung pao plant. my first experience was with a tall lanky plant. i kept saying is this stupid thing ever going to do anything. tall with large leaves and no flowers. then all of a sudden, out of no where, these large umbrella like flowers appeared. large and white. in contrast with the goatsweed that are smaller with the pointy star like flower, you notice the bell, umbrella shape of the kung pao flower and did i mention.... large and white. so different is the fruit of the kung pao that it gives you these long 3-4 inch long pods but not shiny like the goatsweed but a duller red but long and thin. for stir fries, the kung pao is my preferred pod to use, i have almost ruined a stir fry using goatsweed pods, i say "almost ruined", if anyone else had to eat the stir fry, they would have just walked away, saying it was just stupid hot, but me..... suffering through a pork, tofu stir fry with burning lips, dripping eyes, flowing nose and soaking neck line, forcing myself to continue on, is all part of the course.
................who said annuums where boring.