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Caribbean Red chile facts

Bob_B said:
I think part of the taxonomy problem is that "Habanero" is more a description of the pod shape than it is of the geographic area where it originated. Take a look at how Cross Country Nursery classifies peppers by pod type as an example of this...
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Cross counrty nurseries seems to call all C. chinenses habaneros or hab types :( I can live with hab type, hab family, or hab like but to call them habaneros is just wrong.
7 pods, bhuts, fatalii, devil's tongue, nagas, scorpions etc.are not habaneros
All habaneros are C. chinenses
Not all C. chinense are habaneros :)
 
POTAWIE said:
Cross counrty nurseries seems to call all C. chinenses habaneros or hab types :( I can live with hab type, hab family, or hab like but to call them habaneros is just wrong.
7 pods, bhuts, fatalii, devil's tongue, nagas, scorpions etc.are not habaneros
All habaneros are C. chinenses
Not all C. chinense are habaneros :)
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You got that right POTAWIE.
 
I must say this has been an informative thread. In my limited pepper experience CR are my favorite pepper and I'm growing several this year.
 
Now that I really read it, CCN is not really calling them all habaneros but habanero pod type(still not hab pod type IMO) but you'd never know unless you tried their "pod type" search which is only by their own definition, and is quite confusing to me personally. Should be chinenses pod type not habanero :)
 
POTAWIE said:
Now that I really read it, CCN is not really calling them all habaneros but habanero pod type(still not hab pod type IMO) but you'd never know unless you tried their "pod type" search which is only by their own definition, and is quite confusing to me personally. Should be chinenses pod type not habanero :)
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Chinenses is not a pod type afaik.

The GRIN gives several pod types--bell cayenne chili mixed or nondescript ornamental paprika pimiento tabasco chiltepin and habanero. Chinenses fall under almost all the above pod types at least at the GRIN.
 
Naming a "pod type" after a known variety of a different species always confuses me. I see what they are trying to do but I'm sure there is a better way.
 
POTAWIE said:
Naming a "pod type" after a known variety of a different species always confuses me. I see what they are trying to do but I'm sure there is a better way.
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I agree completely. I think that calling a "pod type" habanero isn't technically correct. The point I was trying to make is that some people incorrectly classify habanero by it's pod shape. I suspect that the Caribbean Red wasn't actually cultivated in Mexico but in the Caribbean - but, all "Hab's" were originally cultivated from the "true" Hab, the landrace variety that we know as the Orange Hab.

I actually don't use the "habanero" word to describe any of the "hab" type peppers I grow because of the confusion.

Anyways, it's one very nice pepper to grow in your pepper garden...
 
Habanero is always considered a specific pod type but the only peppers that should have that specific pod type are habaneros or hab crosses that still resemble their habanero parent
 
Upon further investigation, it appears that the Caribbean red may have been developed in Canada/USA by Seminis Vegetable(formerly Petoseed) which sadly is Monsanto’s global vegetable seeds brand for open field crops :(
No idea of the parent plants but now if this is true, we can assume the Caribbean red is not just a red mutant, possibly not 100% habanero, and not technically originating in the Caribbean
 
OK, maybe it is/was a mutant habanero afterall :)
"The plant was grown from seed which was produced by Seminis Vegetable of Saticoy California. Seminis Vegetable is one of the largest vegetable seed producers in the world. The plant was discovered on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico and was grown through several generations to be sure that it bred true. It is an open-pollinated variety."
http://www.tough-love.com/caribred.html [LOOK AT THEIR TERRIBLE PIC]

I've also seen many sources that say the discovery was "developed" or "improved" which is likely just an exaggeration of the truth. Growing out open pollinated plants is not really developing but maybe there was more to it than that?
 
That picture looks nothing like a Caribbean Red. Well, I guess it is red...

All those Ebay scammers would have an easier time passing CRs off as Bhuts if they actually looked like that picture.
 
muskymojo said:
That picture looks nothing like a Caribbean Red. Well, I guess it is red...

All those Ebay scammers would have an easier time passing CRs off as Bhuts if they actually looked like that picture.
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Actually, I've had Caribbean Reds looking like that... most reputable sources actually sell the long ones.
 
I've grown several sources of Caribbean reds over the years both from seed and from bought plants, and I've never seen pods that pod shape before or even pics online.

I believe these are what are commonly known as Caribbean reds

Aug 10 004 by potawie, on Flickr

And here's where they apparently originate. See pic
http://us.seminis.com/products/hg_hot_pepper/caribbean_red.asp
 
I've grown short and chubby Caribbean Reds and longer ones looking like this:
http://www.burpee.com/vegetables/peppers/hot-peppers/habanero/pepper-hot-caribbean-red-prod000803.html
http://www.hot-sauce-island.com/images/caribbean-red-habanero.jpg

What the two versions shared and made me think they are somewhat relative was the distinct flavor and the fact both had bright, transparent skin with veins when green.
 
Burpee's pic is sort of normal, just slightly elongated like the Seminis pic but the other pic looks nothing like a true Caribbean red in my opinion. Not even a habanero pod shape

Edit: Burpee's is an apparently an authorized dealer of Seminis so it would make sense that the pods look alike
 
Well those seeds were labeled as Caribbean Red. if the Seminis ones are the originals, then I've grown some of those as well. :lol:
 
The ones from Potawie's personal picture look like what I thought the true CRH looked like. They have the shape of the typical orange habanero, so it would make sense to me that they be called habaneros. The wrinkly pods from Omri's hotsauceisland.com link are the type of red "habanero" that I find at my local grocery store, and looks like a totally different pepper. Perhaps there is both a Caribbean Red Habanero and a Caribbean Red "non-habanero" that is leading to all the confusion?
 
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