• Do you need help identifying a 🌶?
    Is your plant suffering from an unknown issue? 🤧
    Then ask in Identification and Diagnosis.

Distinguish pepper from their leaf?

Is there any chance to distinguish pepper variety from just seeing their leaf? It would be interesting if one has the knowledge, and would share it to other.
 
Nope, not in terms of species.
You can generally tell a chinense due to the big ol' leaves, and some other, more varied genera you would also be able to distinguish. But that's it until flowers & pods appear.
 
Nope, not in terms of species.
You can generally tell a chinense due to the big ol' leaves, and some other, more varied genera you would also be able to distinguish. But that's it until flowers & pods appear.

As we know, mixed seed's happen every time, some people tend to 'damn i mixed it' and patient enough wait until they podded, but some 'f**k, that's no supposed to happen' and cant wait until it podded and start another batch with the same type, i'm a first time grower so still tend to the first quote, but the second type grower, i dont know? so if there's a possibility that one know how to distinguish one variety (like, 'ah a 7 pod, ah a bhut, ah a datil' and so on) with other, that is amazing talent, for me this question is curiosity.
 
nah if it was a Annuum you could tell but, Chinese all look the same for quit some time, least from what I have experienced
 
It's easier to tell the pubescens apart from everything else because they tend to be hairier...As far as between similar species that would be quite a challenge. There are some unique traits to certain plants that could help, though. For instance, I got a mix of seeds from a free thread in the marketplace and one of them that popped up was a Varigated Tricolor (according to AjiJoe, the originator of the mix). Google some images of that and you'll see why it is easier to tell.

Also, if you have some purple types they tend to be easier to pick out, but if you had multiple types of purple plants I imagine that would be close to impossible.
 
I can distinguish a fatali and peruvian white habanero just by sight every year without exception...heck, even some annuums like the charleston hot are instantly recognizable at the second or third set of true leaves. Some varieties of the same species, particularly those that have been stabilized for a long time, just show very distinct characteristics that the trained eye can pick out. Obviously it's a lot harder to tell with varieties you are only growing for the first time, because you just aren't that familiar with what they typically look like. I have also been able to spot unintentional crosses way before they produced fruit just by comparing the way the seedlings look. YMMV
 
It's easier to tell the pubescens apart from everything else because they tend to be hairier...As far as between similar species that would be quite a challenge. There are some unique traits to certain plants that could help, though. For instance, I got a mix of seeds from a free thread in the marketplace and one of them that popped up was a Varigated Tricolor (according to AjiJoe, the originator of the mix). Google some images of that and you'll see why it is easier to tell.

Also, if you have some purple types they tend to be easier to pick out, but if you had multiple types of purple plants I imagine that would be close to impossible.

Interesting, never known that.

I can distinguish a fatali and peruvian white habanero just by sight every year without exception...heck, even some annuums like the charleston hot are instantly recognizable at the second or third set of true leaves. Some varieties of the same species, particularly those that have been stabilized for a long time, just show very distinct characteristics that the trained eye can pick out. Obviously it's a lot harder to tell with varieties you are only growing for the first time, because you just aren't that familiar with what they typically look like. I have also been able to spot unintentional crosses way before they produced fruit just by comparing the way the seedlings look. YMMV

This is interesting, so you can actually spot their different. Would be great if you can share those trained eyes experience, on what to look, or there's any specific mark that you see what first timer don't. Because all i see is the same on all seedling and plant.
 
It's difficult to tell within the same species. I mixed up some fataliis and devil tongues. I couldn't tell the difference so I tossed them. However, I can tell the difference between some of my peppers within the same species. A white hab looks way different than a naga morich for example.
 
It's difficult to tell within the same species. I mixed up some fataliis and devil tongues. I couldn't tell the difference so I tossed them. However, I can tell the difference between some of my peppers within the same species. A white hab looks way different than a naga morich for example.

How about varieties differences, is that possible just by looking at the leaf?
 
Yeah most varieties within a species are pretty much indistinguishable at that stage. Some varieties are distinct and you may be able to narrow it down depending on what else you're growing. Bhut jolokias have a leaf shape that's skinner than other chinenses with serrated leaf margins, for example. I can take a quick glance at a plant and tell that it's some sort of bhut jolokia, but if you're growing both red and chocolate bhut you probably won't be able to tell which is which. Of course the bird types look different than plants with bigger pods too. The leaves are smaller and the plants are more compact and bushier. A cumari is easy to distinguish from other chinenses. White habaneros aren't quite bird types but they have very small pods, and the plants look kind of in between a cumari and regular chinense in growth habits. Tepin grow taller while pequin are bushier, so I can tell those apart too. But for probably 90% of varieties within a species it's very difficult to tell.
 
Back
Top