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Need help in decideing what kind of plant this is. (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 year ago by Underpromoted to c/gardening

13 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I got this plant from my mother because I'm interested in chili planting. She choose this from a supermarket (Tesco) because it had a chili symbol on it. It says Capsicum aanum sombrero which from the symbol said to be not edible and might not even be chili. From a google search the name Capsicum aanum I found that it refers to a non edible indoor pepper type which is basically for decoration (more like not edible) but also found some sources saying that it's edible but with the symbol on it I don't want to risk it. I have also found a website contributing it to be a chili type because of the Sombrero name (so fully Capsicum aanum Sombrero). I can't decide what kind of plant this is. Does anyone know? And how should I take care of it?

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[–] ProfessorPuzzleCode 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I can't call it one way of the other. Capsicums are all "Nightshades" many of which are toxic. Nightshades also include tomatoes and potatoes. The fruits of tomatoes are not toxic, but the almost identical looking fruits of the potato are toxic. Lots of references say that Capsicum are all edible, as I guess are all tomatoes. Capsicums are toxic to dogs and cats, so that could also be why it is marked like this, or it could be the foliage that is toxic. Like you, I could say for sure.

[–] Underpromoted 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Thank you. Is there any way to correctly identify it? I have found out Capsicum annum refers to chili too but there are also variant of tomato that looks like chili but is toxic to humans. I thought there was a possibility that it is incorrectly labeled but even the pot says it isn't edible. Maybe I need a book on this one because the wikipedia and google didn't help me much with it.

[–] scarabic 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

These are sold as ornamentals. They're decorative plants and not specialized for eating. We may not be able to determine if "not for eating" means toxic or just that eating is not their intended purpose and they will taste bad, or have heat and no flavor. In any case, it's not for eating. Are you concerned about a child or pet accidentally eating something harmful, even if you just keep it at home as an ornamental?

[–] Underpromoted 1 points 1 year ago

Thankfully there isn't anything that would eat it tbh. I was just curious.

[–] ProfessorPuzzleCode 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The only other thing I trawled up was that these ornamental varieties taste horrible anyway, even the ones that aren't topic.

[–] Underpromoted 1 points 1 year ago

I see. Thank you for your anwser. I will take care of it but not for the purpose of being edible.

[–] Jakor 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

It’s definitely edible (safe to eat) but as other posters mentioned, it’s one of those ornamental anuum pepper varieties and are too bitter for most people. Other anuums include jalapeños, Serranos, shishito, and Jamaican mushroom. For contrast, the other common types at: chinense (habanero, ghost, reaper, etc), fructecens (tobasco), baccatum (lemon drop, Brazilian starfish, ají amarillo), and pubescens (rocoto, manzanas).

It’s usually impossible to identify the exact pepper species you have, but I’d bet dollars to donuts it tastes almost exactly like Bolivian rainbow, if you’d like to read other peoples reviews online.

Let me know if you have any further questions on the subject! Growing hot peppers has become a bit of a hobby of mine, if you can’t tell :)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

We just planted peppers this year. We ordered a couple batches of seeds online and so far things are growing. The Vampire peppers are doing the best. Good luck with this

[–] Underpromoted 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Thank you. I'm thinking about ordering seeds online.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

We ordered from https://pepperseeds.eu/ We got some extras and seems like we a couple sprouts from each variant.

[–] Spacebar 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

BOLIVIAN MINI CHILI - C. Anumm Plants are exceptionally decorative, with a height of 20 cm with pots and lots of big fruits. The fruits are sweet and excellent for filling with cheese, salads, fresh use or cooking.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsicum_annuum

[–] Underpromoted 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Do you think it is Bolivian Mini Chili? I think it is possible but maybe not the bolivian rainbow kind. But it could be that it's not fully ripe yet. Thank you for your anwser.

[–] Spacebar 1 points 1 year ago

I'm not sure, but lots of peppers change color the longer they are left on the vine.