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plant-i.d. Is this still accurate?

smalldoe

smalldoe

Hi everyone. I'm looking for good guide on how to visually identify the 5 different domesticated pepper species. Searched on Google and YT but tbh, the guides there weren't very good.

I bought an old book on peppers: Peppers of the World- An Identification Guide. And it had this key. Does anyone know if this is still accurate? The book is from 1996, so almost 30 years old and a lot of other information is now outdated but perhaps the key traits between the species are still the same?
:)

Thank you in advance.
 

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I don't think it's outdated, it just isn't all that good. If you ignore the wild peppers, steps 1 and 2 are generally fine. Purple corolla isn't exclusive to pubescens, but pubes have a look one can generally get familiar with. Step 3 should probably be chinense referencing annular constriction of the calix with more than 2 flowers per node being a secondary indicator. Separating annum and frutescens can be more difficult with the upright fruiting annuum types, but starts with flowers upright, nodding at anthesis, with greenish tint versus true white and 1 or 2 flowers per node being secondary considerations. The wilds will create overlap with baccatum on color-spotted corollas as will, less commonly, frutescence. Also, with pubes as to dark seeds and flower color. There's considerable overlap with respect to flower parts in general, such as filament and anther color, etc. Other traits overlap as well. Some annuum will cluster flower.

I've never seen one very good source with a short presentation identifying everything neatly and there will always be exceptions. The above are the broad indicators though that will get you there a very high percentage of the time if you know them all, but there are some curve balls. There are entire research papers on localized drift in frutescens characteristics and the like. Wilds are likely where you'd need to get most into the technical features such as calyx teeth and the like as necessary for ID purposes.

There's also an art to it. How do you ID a pubescens that's pre-flowering if all you're looking for is purple flowers and dark seeds? Or a baccatum that hasn't flowered? Etc. Leaf shapes and textures, growth patterns, other things you get familiar with help here. Again though, there's always going to be stumpers, especially with younger plants with fewer defining characteristics present. Heck, the experts even argue and change classifications from time to time.
 
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CaneDog said:
I don't think it's outdated, it just isn't all that good. If you ignore the wild peppers, steps 1 and 2 are generally fine. Purple corolla isn't exclusive to pubescens, but pubes have a look one can generally get familiar with. Step 3 should probably be chinense referencing annular constriction of the calix with more than 2 flowers per node being a secondary indicator. Separating annum and frutescens can be more difficult with the upright fruiting annuum types, but starts with flowers upright, nodding at anthesis, with greenish tint versus true white and 1 or 2 flowers per node being secondary considerations. The wilds will create overlap with baccatum on color-spotted corollas as will, less commonly, frutescence. Also, with pubes as to dark seeds and flower color. There's considerable overlap with respect to flower parts in general, such as filament and anther color, etc. Other traits overlap as well. Some annuum will cluster flower.

I've never seen one very good source with a short presentation identifying everything neatly and there will always be exceptions. The above are the broad indicators though that will get you there a very high percentage of the time if you know them all, but there are some curve balls. There are entire research papers on localized drift in frutescens characteristics and the like. Wilds are likely where you'd need to get most into the technical features such as calyx teeth and the like as necessary for ID purposes.

There's also an art to it. How do you ID a pubescens that's pre-flowering if all you're looking for is purple flowers and dark seeds? Or a baccatum that hasn't flowered? Etc. Leaf shapes and textures, growth patterns, other things you get familiar with help here. Again though, there's always going to be stumpers, especially with younger plants with fewer defining characteristics present. Heck, the experts even argue and change classifications from time to time.
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This was very informative. Thank you so much.


But just to be sure- only pubescense have dark coloured seeds? But annum and chinense can both have more than 1 flower per node?
 
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Sure thing.

It's tough to give absolute answers. Of the 5 main/domesticated species, annuum, chinense, pubescens, and baccatum, I can't think of anything other than pubescens that has the dark seeds and I don't believe there are any. That said, at least some pubescens have somewhat lighter colored seeds and some wilds, like lanceolatum and purple corolla clade peppers will have similarly dark seeds, though typically much smaller. If it's an as-big-as or bigger seed than a common pepper seed, it's extremely likely to be a pubescens. They're also quite easy to ID even as young plants once you're use to their look.

Chinense, frutescens, baccatum, and annuum can all have more than one flower per node, but when you see multiple flowers per node bunching and arcing downward that's a very common chinense look. The calix constriction is the dead giveaway in ID. Frutescens commonly have 1 or 2 flowers per node and a greenish hued flower similar to chinense, but with erect pedicels when the flower opens along with a nodding flower. Some annuum cluster with a similar look to the chinense. Also, sometimes they have nodes so underdeveloped and in close concentration that it looks like flowers clustering from a single node even when it isn't. This is uncommon though as they're usually obviously solitary. Baccatum are most commonly solitary flowers, with the color dappled corolla being the key identifier among the domestics.

If you apply these general rules while looking at some plants and pictures, you'll get quite good quite fast at ID'ing the majority of peppers types even many of them when they're aren't flowering - assuming you aren't already.
 
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