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

chinense scotch bonnet or not?

tjg911

tjg911

i'm not sure if i am growing scotch bonnet or something else. maybe someone could enlighten me?

i question this because at the greenhouse where i bought 1 fatalli, 1 scotch bonnet and 3 long red slim cayenne plants my 3 long red slim cayenne (which i have grown for 2 or 3 seasons) are long red thick cayenne peppers that have virtually no heat at all. the fatalli is correct. so if he mixed up the cayenne maybe he did the same with the scotch bonnets.

my scotch bonnet fruits vary from wrinkled and pointed to some being less wrinkled and flat bottomed. they are orangish/pinkish in color similar to these but much less orange with a definite pinkish color. scotch bonnet from google images

here's why i really question this. i'm not a long time fiery pepper eater, read my introduction i'm fairly new to hot peppers. i found my long red slim cayenne peppers to be very hot and since i liked them i wanted to try something really really hot. tonight i ate 3 scotch bonnets raw without the pith and seeds just the flesh with salsa and chips. the 1st 2 had a nice citrus flavor with some heat but were not that hot. now the 3rd was quite a bit hotter but not as hot as the cayenne peppers from past years. when i ate those cayenne peppers my scalp would sweat and my mouth felt a lot of heat! the scotch bonnets just burn my mouth with some heat but seem to be less hot!

are some scotch bonnets from the same plant less hot than others? is it possible to eat these peppers raw with salsa and chips and say they did not generate a lot of heat?

i'm new to this but it seems to me that scotch bonnets should be wicked hot! my fatalli plant is quite hot, wicked hot would not be exaggerating!

thanks.
 
A photo of your plant and pods would help. The photo from Google Images in my view is a Habanero not a Scotch Bonnet.
 
papadaca said:
if they look like red or yellow mushrooms u have a scotch bonnet
Click to expand...

There is a Capsicum Annuum variety named Jamaican Yellow Mushroom that is sometimes sold as a Scotch Bonnet. There are other characteristics of the plant and the pods that you must examine to determine whether you have a true and proper Scotch Bonnet besides the pod shape.

I bought seeds that were incorrectly sold as Scotch Bonnet seeds last year.
 
If you cut open a scotch bonnet you will know it immediately!! You get a smell of heat that will shock you. I'd forgotten how hot they were until picking one this year. Habaneros take a back seat to the smell of a bonnet. You definitely know this pepper is going to give you a lot of heat.
 
papadaca said:
if they look like red or yellow mushrooms u have a scotch bonnet
Click to expand...

so here's a google image that looks like a mushroom mushroom shaped scotch bonnet

but here's another another scotch bonnet picture

i googled scotch bonnet in images and here's where i'm getting pictures. as you can see there are different shapes. google images

here's an image from tomato growers supply in ft myers florida tomato growers supply scotch bonnet

so it seems there are different shapes for scotch bonnets, not all are mushroom or tam shaped. as i said i don't think mine are as hot as i expected. my fatalli peppers are hotter. i made a mustard based hot sauce today from most of my fatalli's and at times cutting them open took away my breath a bit.

i guess unless you get seed from a reliable seed company you can't be sure what you have. the fact i can eat the scotch bonnets i have and most are not super hot makes me question them.
 
Bonnets get their name because they resemble a bonnet.

Does yours?

bonnet-12.JPG


67766_15.JPG
 
papadaca said:
if they look like red or yellow mushrooms u have a scotch bonnet
Click to expand...
No, you likely have a mushroom or squash type annuum.

Scotch bonnets
" A Grade A Scotch bonnet is expected to:
•have a cup and saucer shape or look like a Scottish man's bonnet (tam)
•have four or five lobes
•be 1.5 inches wide
•have a stalk no longer than 1 1/4 inches long
•be without blemishes on the skin
•be free of chemical residue"
http://www.fiery-foods.com/chiles-around-the-world/76-caribbean/88-the-scotch-bonnet-peppers-of-jamaica

But.........I personally have still never found a red Scotch bonnet variety with a consistant bonnet shape. Yellow and orange types are quite common and quite excellent

Also bonnets should be quite a bit milder than a fatalii

Here's an old thread with lots of info
http://www.thehotpepper.com/topic/5370-scotch-bonnets-squash-mushroomjamaican-hot-etc/page__p__86366__hl__squash__fromsearch__1#entry86366
 
POTAWIE said:
No, you likely have a mushroom or squash type annuum.

Scotch bonnets
" A Grade A Scotch bonnet is expected to:
•have a cup and saucer shape or look like a Scottish man's bonnet (tam)
•have four or five lobes
•be 1.5 inches wide
•have a stalk no longer than 1 1/4 inches long
•be without blemishes on the skin
•be free of chemical residue"
http://www.fiery-foods.com/chiles-around-the-world/76-caribbean/88-the-scotch-bonnet-peppers-of-jamaica

But.........I personally have still never found a red Scotch bonnet variety with a consistant bonnet shape. Yellow and orange types are quite common and quite excellent

Also bonnets should be quite a bit milder than a fatalii

Here's an old thread with lots of info
http://www.thehotpepper.com/topic/5370-scotch-bonnets-squash-mushroomjamaican-hot-etc/page__p__86366__hl__squash__fromsearch__1#entry86366
Click to expand...

thanks. based upon your 1st 2 points i do not have a scotch bonnet. mine are not quite 1.5" wide but the length is correct. based upon the photos i see it may be. i know the net is not exactly "the" last word and often has a lot of misinformation. tomato growers supply is a very well respected company, their photo is not mushroom shaped but maybe they too have something listed incorrectly.

some of my peppers (sb) are pointed as i showed in a link but some are flattish bottomed. none look like a mushroom or a tam. interesting that you say a scotch bonnet will not be as hot as a fatalli! as i mentioned my fatalli's are much hotter than my scotch bonnets. i thought that scotch bonnets were as hot and possibly hotter, i have seen scoville scale ratings for both at 100-300k.

i have saved seeds from my fatalli peppers but i was uncertain whether to save them from the scotch bonnets because i am questioning what they are and how they are not as hot as i expected them to be. perhaps i will not save any seeds because i am not sure what the heck i have. i would prefer to buy or trade for something that is correct!
 
There are numerous "Scotch Bonnets" but the large red pictured here is a "Jamaican Scotch Bonnet"....... I know...I brought the seeds back from there...


IMG_1597-1.jpg
 
POTAWIE said:
That one certainly looks like an C. annuum mushroom/squash type or pa353

Tomatogrowers Scotch Bonnet also does not look like a real Scotch bonnet but it is at least a C. chinense
Click to expand...
It listed by the GRIN as PI 655064 Capsicum chinense Jacq. SOLANACEAE PA-353

So as you said, pa 353; but they list it as a c. Chinense.
 
There have been lots of labelling errors reported with GRIN seeds. I've grown pa353 and I'm quite sure they are annuums.

Potawie's pa353 2005
26904706807de6075cefjw6.jpg
 
POTAWIE said:
There have been lots of labelling errors reported with GRIN seeds. I've grown pa353 and I'm quite sure they are annuums.

Potawie's pa353 2005
26904706807de6075cefjw6.jpg
Click to expand...

Well I certainly can agree with they make mistakes on labeling. Have you seen the pepper they label as "scotch bonnet." It looks more like a yellow cayenne.
 
tjg911 said:
i thought that scotch bonnets were as hot and possibly hotter, i have seen scoville scale ratings for both at 100-300k.
Click to expand...
Fatalii are probably almost 300k but most Scotch bonnets are probably around 200k or less.
I've read some places about bonnets being 100k–350k but I know they're not anywhere near 350k. They are usually milder than real habaneros although quite close and they have a fruitier flavor than habs
 
thank you everyone for all the info. i am surprised at how confusing this is! i grow a lot of different vegetables and this issue of crosses just never comes up maybe because i buy seeds vs saving them with the exception of tomatoes. apparently from what i have read at tomatoville.com, peppers cross readily and even companies are selling seeds that are crossed. i guess i'll just accept the fact that what i grow may be a cross and if i save seeds they may be crossed. tomatoes don't cross very easily so they tend to stay true to type and saving seeds is never a problem, apparently peppers are at the other end of that scale! i have fatalli and long red slim cayenne (from 2010 not this year) seeds so i'll use those and hope for the best. this does bug me tho because if you buy plants you won't know you are not growing exactly what you thought but i guess that's possible using seeds too unless the source isolates the plants. next year i'm looking to grow some habaneros and see how hot they are!
 
Another problem is that we here are much smarter about chiles than most seed companies. They often don't really know what they're selling, they just know what's popular or new, or what sells. Its very common to see Scotch bonnets labelled as habaneros and the other way around, and even 7 pods labelled as habaneros :(
Its always best to get seeds from someone who knows what they are growing and isolates, but it is very difficult for a hobbiest to isolate all their varieties
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top