So I have some questions about the Bih Jolokia. Is it a Capsicum Frutescenes as some people have said? Also is it an ancestor to the Bhut Jolokia? I am wondering about this.
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chinense Bih Jolokia
- Thread starter SpeakPolish
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Bih Jolokia is extremely similar to Bhut Jolokia and most likely a regional variant in India. I was pretty involved in growing that original one out many years ago and was excited to be one of the first to get my hands on the seed. 
It starts out lighter green than Bhut Jolokia in its immature state. Bhut is said to possibly have some frutescens genes in it, but one would think mostly chinense based on appearance alone. I imagine Bih is quite similar given the rest matches up.
Chris
It starts out lighter green than Bhut Jolokia in its immature state. Bhut is said to possibly have some frutescens genes in it, but one would think mostly chinense based on appearance alone. I imagine Bih is quite similar given the rest matches up.Chris
Yes, genetic testing by Bosland showed the Bhut to be just over 90% Chinense with a little Frutescens. I'd have to find my printout of it to get exact numbers.cmpman1974 said:Bih Jolokia is extremely similar to Bhut Jolokia and most likely a regional variant in India. I was pretty involved in growing that original one out many years ago and was excited to be one of the first to get my hands on the seed.
Chris
cmpman1974 said:
^
I think this is likely the answer. In "The Complete Chili Pepper Book", De Witt and Bosland quoted Leena Saikia of Frontal Agritech as saying "All these chiles are from northeast India. They belong to Capsicum Chinense. In fact, they are all the same chile but named differently at different places. For example, the Assamese community calls it variously Bih Jolokia (poison chile), Bhut Jolokia (ghost chile), and Naga Jolokia."
Also in the book, the authors referenced genetic testing of Bhut Jolokia where the researchers found 8 genetic markers specific to C. Chinense and 3 specific to C. Frutescens. Overall, Bhut Jolokia showed a 0.79 similarity with C. Chinense, which makes it a Chinense with some Frutescens genes. A totally pure Chinense would have a similarity index value of 1.00, but the authors say that this "is rather rare, as most cultivated varieties contain genes from more than one species through breeding."
I grew Bih Jolokia a couple of years ago, from Pepperlover's seeds. They produced somewhat short, Naga-type pods. Some red Bhuts I have grown produced very similar pods, even though the ideal pheno for Bhuts is supposed to be more elongated and bumpy, I believe. Although my Bih Jolokia plants did seem to grow a little taller and more gangly than the red Bhuts that I have grown.
The side by side pics ive seen are super similar for Bih and Bhut. Ive only grown Bhuts. Naga Morich do look a bit different. Smoother and not as pointy. I suspect Naga Jolokia is more or less just another name used for "ghosts" based on the region it was grown.
Bhut....Bih ...Naga Morich
Bhut....Bih ...Naga Morich