Huge thanks go out to John Lackey for the pods and the photo of the flower. Also thanks to Vidal Contreras for the photo of the C.lanceolatum plant. Check out the 2 different kinds of leaf!
This species was thought to be extinct for 50 years, until being rediscovered in 1991. It is still extremely rare in the wild, but some of us are growing it and more will join in, I hope!
The aroma is somewhat similar to C.flexuosum, in that there is a definite smell of tropical fruit, like White Sapote or Papaya. There is not really any sweetness or acidity to the aromas, though.
The flesh is also similar to C.flexuosum, being very grape-like, but the flavour was initially slightly bitter and had no sweetness or acidity whatsoever. There was a definite flavor of unripe tropical fruit, again White Sapote and Papaya, but those have some acidity when unripe and C.lanceolatum did not. The slightly bitter taste didn`t go away and stayed. It wasn`t unpleasant bitterness, but the entire flavor profile was very lacking.
The heat is very, very low indeed. Almost to the point of being hard to detect.
I`m extremely lucky to get to eat rarities like this and that is it`s own reward, but this is not a pepper to grow for eating. The plants are very interesting and the flowers are beautiful, so it has that going for it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIav8ZEqNzs&feature=youtu.be
This species was thought to be extinct for 50 years, until being rediscovered in 1991. It is still extremely rare in the wild, but some of us are growing it and more will join in, I hope!
The aroma is somewhat similar to C.flexuosum, in that there is a definite smell of tropical fruit, like White Sapote or Papaya. There is not really any sweetness or acidity to the aromas, though.
The flesh is also similar to C.flexuosum, being very grape-like, but the flavour was initially slightly bitter and had no sweetness or acidity whatsoever. There was a definite flavor of unripe tropical fruit, again White Sapote and Papaya, but those have some acidity when unripe and C.lanceolatum did not. The slightly bitter taste didn`t go away and stayed. It wasn`t unpleasant bitterness, but the entire flavor profile was very lacking.
The heat is very, very low indeed. Almost to the point of being hard to detect.
I`m extremely lucky to get to eat rarities like this and that is it`s own reward, but this is not a pepper to grow for eating. The plants are very interesting and the flowers are beautiful, so it has that going for it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIav8ZEqNzs&feature=youtu.be
Thank you for the review Nigel, and thank you John for growing 'em 