Got this in an SASE and it was suppose to be a Chiltepen. Any Ideas?
Chiltepin error seeds
- Thread starter HillBilly Jeff
- Start date
How big are the biggest fruits? It could be Pequin, which is a distant relative of the Chiletepin. Pequin (or Piquin) is the elongated one, and only gets about a centimeter long and about a quarter inch or less wide. The Chiletepin is a squat, oval-shaped pepper that is only about the size of a marble. They are comparable in heat to one another, but the Pequin tends to be sharper and longer lasting, whereas the Chiletepin is more quick building of a burn and does not last as long.
They are probably just over an inch long as the biggest. Maybe even inch and a half. Didn't measure.
Here is the other plant I got from the same seed pack.
No
Here is the other plant I got from the same seed pack.
No
The chiltepíns in my neighborhood range from the size of BBs to .22 caliber shorts. (And like both of those rounds, they will still put your eye out.)
"Pequín" seems to be a broad catch-all term (almost as vague as "bird chiles"), or there is huge variation across pequíns, or both.
Pequíns(?) de Guanajuato
(See the recent Guanajuato threads in this section, if you like, for more photos.)
By the way, I've never gotten any chiltepín seeds to germinate. (It may take mockingbird poop-chute magic.) Digging transplants is pretty foolproof, though.
"Pequín" seems to be a broad catch-all term (almost as vague as "bird chiles"), or there is huge variation across pequíns, or both.
Pequíns(?) de Guanajuato
(See the recent Guanajuato threads in this section, if you like, for more photos.)
By the way, I've never gotten any chiltepín seeds to germinate. (It may take mockingbird poop-chute magic.) Digging transplants is pretty foolproof, though.
I have something that looks very similar that came from an AjiJoe mystery pack. I still don't know what they are. Purple flowers and green pods that turn purple/black in the sun, ripening to red (1-3 per node)?
With that in mind I'd say they aren't any type of "bird chili," especially with the purple flower tips.
With that in mind I'd say they aren't any type of "bird chili," especially with the purple flower tips.
Sounds to me like you got some sort of Chiletepin. I have a variant which a fellow THP member gave me seeds for, which in Peru they referred to as Tio (found out it means "Uncle's", since his uncle had the mother plant growing on his property for many years). They are ovoid, grow straight up, and begin as green, turning purple-ish black on the sunniest parts of the pods, and finally to a rich red.
I have a few light purple-tinted flowering varieties, such as Chenzo and Purple Cayenne, but those aren't either of those types.
Back on topic, I'd say that it is a wild variety of some sort. If they're good and also have good heat, overwinter it and keep it around. Save the seeds and spread them around to everyone you know. If you can't find out what it is called, just name it "Unknown #XX" and catalog it. Otherwise, if you're ambitious, send it to be genetically tested!
Interesting. I don't know much about Chiltepins as I didn't think I was growing any. I still don't because the plant I have is considerably more purple (in both the pods and the leaves) than others I've seen.
Bodeen, can you give us a wider view of the overall plant? And maybe who you got them from?
I've seen people mistakenly call pequins tepins and vice versa, may just be mislabeled.
Part of the problem is that when a tepin crosses with something the resulting cross may resemble a pequin at a passing glance, since there's a lot of variability to pequin pod morphology to begin with.
My tepins last year gave birth to two pod types, one that looks indistinguishable from the parent, the other is undoubtedly a cross. Actually looks a lot like the Pequins de Guanajuato swellcat mentioned...
Part of the problem is that when a tepin crosses with something the resulting cross may resemble a pequin at a passing glance, since there's a lot of variability to pequin pod morphology to begin with.
My tepins last year gave birth to two pod types, one that looks indistinguishable from the parent, the other is undoubtedly a cross. Actually looks a lot like the Pequins de Guanajuato swellcat mentioned...
