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Vietnamese Mystery Peppers: Need help unveiling the mystery

yemtol

yemtol

I got the seeds for these from a friend. All he really knew was that his wife brought them with her from the family plot in Vietnam when she moved to the states. They may be something common to Vietnam or it may be an unnamed family heirloom. I'm no expert, this is my first year growing. So I'm submitting it here for identification or failing that, assistance in confirming it as an unnamed heirloom. I've searched the web a lot over the past few months, but have not found anything with this pepper's combination of plant, pod and ripening characteristics. If they are unnamed heirlooms, I'll release them with my friend's wife's name attached pending her permission. They are hotter than cayenne but nowhere near the habs. Prior to eating a hab, it burned my mouth up and made me sweat without being completely unbearable. After eating a hab with dinner, I could still detect the heat from this pepper but the burn was gone. Here's pics from germinating seeds to pods and fresh harvested seeds.

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Thanks for any help. Happy to answer any questions.
 
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Nearly twenty four hours later with 47 views and no one has so much as hazarded a guess. I must assume that either I've left out some valuable piece of info or this thing really is some unnamed discovery. Feedback would be welcome so I know whether to chase the dear sweet woman down for answers or for permission to name it. Either way, seeds will be forthcoming for those willing to send a SASBE once I know what to call it in my give away to come.

Thanks,
Gerry
 
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Bet smokemaster could identify it. He certainly seems to know a thing or two about of the "Gray Fuzzies" Goat Weed types. ;)

http://thehotpepper.com/topic/32361-hairy-little-thing/#entry656351

My money is on Vietnamese Black Dragon.....
 
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As the red seeps in, it does have about a day or two in a dark brownish color. Think burnt umber with the tint skewed a little to the left. For some reason, the camera picks it up as a very dark green.
 
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I agree that it could be a variety of a goat weed the leaves are fuzzy and the white flowers look the same. I ate a lot of different kinds of peppers when I was there many years ago, but most were C. frutescens. It looks like it could be some sort of serrano pepper perhaps a cross?
George W.
 
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Gray Fuzzies I have now or grown:

Chile Huerto , Chile Pajarito (not Aji Pajarito), Chile Chiqueto , Black Momba , Black Cobra , Chile Pulguita , Chile Puerto Rico , Vietnamese Black dragon , Goat weed , Chile Negro de Arbol , Black Chile Verde (or Grande-I forget) , a couple unknowns from various countries.
There are probably a few more I forgot.Can't look them up right now.

Most have some kind of difference when placed side by side.

Pod size and shape variations,Upturned pods , Pendant Pods , pods that start out upturned then go pendant.

Some go from green to black.
Some the black is a very dark brown or purple if you look closely at it.

Some spend a long time in the black stage,some don't.
One goes from green to black to orange to red.
Most go green to black then red.
All plants are fuzzy but some are more so than others.
Some are more fussy when young than when they are older and visa versa.

My computer hates me these days.
Don't really know if this will post...
Post= restart these days to my computer.
So does just typing something sometimes..\
Can't post pics etc.
 
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So Goats Weed is actually just one of the "Gray Fuzzies" and they are not really all "Goats Weed" per se? (That's what I originally thought... Goats Weed was really just the one variety that produces long, thin, pendant pods, and comes from Venezuela?)

I have heard of the Black Cobra (which is often claimed to be Goats Weed--but has always looked different to me) but had no idea so many other "Gray Fuzzies" existed. I believe one of them to be a pequin type too?

Thanks for the info, smoke! Learn something new every day here. :D
 
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Black Cobra is supposed to be from Mexico - didn't know there were Cobras in Mexico...

I forgot to mention,gray Fuzzies also have a LOT of different plant variations.
Some are tree shaped , some are multi stemmed(from the ground up) bushes.
Some are several long stalks with very few branches except at the top.
 
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New information: After a couple weeks of trying, I finally got a hold of the guy who's wife gave me the seeds so I could pump him for more information. Apparently his wife's family in Vietnam crossbreeds peppers for their own enjoyment. This variety was developed years ago in their family plot, and they enjoyed it enough to work with it until they had a stable strain. She couldn't tell me what it was called because they never bothered to name it. How they refer to it translates roughly as the spicy red pepper. I'm not sure what the convention is for naming a previously unnamed pepper, but I have been given permission to name it for them and attach her name in what I understand to be an old horticultural tradition. Her name is Nhu (pronounced: noo). I will simply be calling them Nhu's pepper. Say it out loud a couple times. It's almost as fun to say as they are to eat.
 
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