Who Remembers When Butch T Supposedly Proved........

[President Trump]

Who remembers when Butch T posted some test results that was supposed to prove that the Carolina Reaper and the Primo are the same pepper?
There was an SHU test that was posted online with the promise of true DNA analysis to come. 
Did he ever get to the DNA part or was he just bullshitting?

 

[AJ Drew]

I remember the claims and havet heard a thing yet. Brings up a really fun topic.  Something I have been wondering for much time.  How different do two peppers have to be for them to be two different peppers?:  Then there is the reverse of the question, how similar do two peppers have to be to be considered the same pepper?  Example: There is a white ghost pepper that finishes white and there is one that goes threw white into red, but they are both called white ghost peppers.
 
I have started putting S1, S2, S3 and so on to the names so I can keep them right in my head.

 

[cone9]

no morphine
 
And... we have traded OP seed with one another so many times (using the original names) that some varieties are showing markedly different phenotypes.  I recall seeing a thread with several members posting pictures of their Bolsa de Dulce peppers all of which were very different from those I grow.  I have noticed Brazilian Starfish are starting to show some significant variation as well.  I would assume these differences are from unintentional cross breeding.  There comes a time when you must decide to no longer call these peppers by their original names.

 

[AJ Drew]

I do think unintentional crosses contribute, but never underestimate the power of selective culling / saving.  If you visit Mr. Butch Taylor's seed site, you will note his photos of the Butch T. Scorpion look much different today than they did back in the day. No more tail like most pictures.

 

[Wicked Mike]

I remember the claims and havet heard a thing yet. Brings up a really fun topic.  Something I have been wondering for much time.  How different do two peppers have to be for them to be two different peppers?:  Then there is the reverse of the question, how similar do two peppers have to be to be considered the same pepper?  Example: There is a white ghost pepper that finishes white and there is one that goes threw white into red, but they are both called white ghost peppers.
 
I have started putting S1, S2, S3 and so on to the names so I can keep them right in my head.

 
As Dave points out, so many OP seeds have flown all over the world at this point that even if I'm growing the exact same varieties (on paper) as someone else, there are bound to be substantial differences. Even if you and I were to grow from cloned plants, rendering our grows 100% genetically identical, the different environmental factors will still result in at least some variation. It's a normal impulse to want to categorize and name everything, but that's just not how nature works. As much as we try to impose human order, there's always going to be something that eludes us.
 
Personally, I'm glad. It means there will always be another mystery, another puzzle to solve. It means we'll never know everything, or have complete control over every aspect of the thing. That, I'm okay with.

no morphine
 
And... we have traded OP seed with one another so many times (using the original names) that some varieties are showing markedly different phenotypes.  I recall seeing a thread with several members posting pictures of their Bolsa de Dulce peppers all of which were very different from those I grow.  I have noticed Brazilian Starfish are starting to show some significant variation as well.  I would assume these differences are from unintentional cross breeding.  There comes a time when you must decide to no longer call these peppers by their original names.

 
I'd noticed the same variation in Brazilian Starfish that you mention. Bishop's Hat as well. So I sourced some of the original "Chapeau de Bispo" from Brazil, and it's actually pretty different from the different Bishop's Hat pods I've seen here.
 
I'd gotten some seeds for Orchid from Helvete a while back. Thus far, my favorite of that whole group of similar baccatum varieties.