Chillies are a personal favourite of mine. With the differences in cultivars among the five domesticated species of Capsicum, there's shapes, colours, flavours and heat-levels to suit anyone! Great in food, good for you, and easy to grow, chillies make a rewarding herb/spice to keep in your garden.
Chillies and Peppers - Capsicum Selection
| Photograph | Species | Description | Scoville Heat Scale | Fruit Shape & Size | Fruit Colour | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cayenne | Capsicum annuum | Prized not only for its great taste and pungency, but also for its health benefits, Cayenne is also often used dried as a powder. | 30 000 - 50 000 SHU |  HOT | Long and thin. 12cm | Cayenne is a chilli cultivar that is as much prized for its health benefits, as it is for its use in various cuisine. Matures from green to bright red. |
Jalapeno | Capsicum annuum | With a mild to medium pungency, and good sized fruit, Jalapeño chillies are a firm favourite with many. They can be eaten fresh, pickled, smoked (known as chipotles), or stuffed (poppers). | 2 500 - 8 000 SHU |  MILD | Pods are broad and cone shaped. 8cm | Matures from green to bright red. Usually used when green. |
Thai / Birds Eye | Capsicum annuum | Thai chillies are also known as Bird’s Eye chillies and are very hot and pungent. Fruit can be used at any ripeness. | 50 000 - 100 000 SHU | HOT | Small thin pods with pointed tips. 4cm | The small fruit ripen from green (through yellow and orange) to bright red. |
Loco | Capsicum annuum | Loco is a compact multi-branching bush type chilli with many pungent short and small upright bright purple fruits that ripen to red. Attractive patio plant. Flowers are also purple or purple tinged rather than white. | 10 000 - 24 000 SHU |  MILD > HOT | Small and round. 2cm | Matures from almost black through purple to red. |
Chenzo | Capsicum frutescens | Attractive black fruit, and a compact growth habit makes this chilli a good patio or balcony specimen. Fruit are of medium to hot pungency and tasty. | 45 000 SHU | HOT | Tapered pods measure about 7cm | Brilliant black maturing to purple, then green and finally red. |
Yellow Banana Pepper | Capsicum annuum | These very mild sweet peppers are also known as wax peppers, and are typically eaten when bright yellow. Not to be confused with Hungarian wax peppers (hotter) or Pepperoncini. | 0 - 500 SHU | SWEET > MILD | 15cm fruit resemble a banana | Light to bright yellow |
Aji (yellow) | Capsicum baccatum | Ripening from green to a bright yellow colour, with a fruity taste and hot pungency, the yellow aji pepper is perfect for hot sauces. | 30 000 - 50 000 SHU | HOT | 2.5-7cm Thin and tapered pods | Yellow |
Padrón  | Capsicum annuum | Customarily fried in oil and served as tapas, the Padrón pepper is generally quite mild, but has a peculiarity that one in a few may be super hot! | 2 500 - 5 000 SHU |  MILD | 5cm Elongated conic shape. | Bright green or yellow-green. |
Bishop's Crown | Capsicum baccatum | The Bishop’s Crown or Christmas Bell Pepper is a hot pepper with unusual shaped fruit resembling a joker’s hat. Ripening from green to bright red, they are easy to grow and prolific. | 10 000 - 30 000 SHU | MILD > HOT | Bell/crown-shaped. 6cm | Green to bright red. |
Cherry Bomb | Capsicum annuum | On a par with a very mild Jalapeño in terms of heat, these sweet-with-a-bite hybrid peppers are perfect for stuffing, pickling, or roasting. Small and round like little red cherries. | 5 000 | MILD | Small and round. | Bright red. |
7-Pot | Capsicum chinense | Related to the Trinidad Scorpion Pepper (2nd hottest on record), the 7-pot peppers are extremely hot. The name implies one chilli has enough spice to make 7 pots of hot chilli stew. Fruity. | 950 000 - 1 000 000 SHU |  EXCEPTIONALLY HOT | Round, plump and wrinkled (dimply), sometimes with a "sting-like" pointed end. | Bright red. |
Fatalii | Capsicum chinense | Fatalii has a fruity citrus flavour and a searing heat. Delicious in hot sauces, especially if paired with fruit. Mostly used in sauces, salsa, marinades and other processed liquids. | 300 000 + SHU |  VERY HOT | Conical with deep dimples and "wrinkles" almost like an elongated habanero | Yellow |
Tabasco | Capsicum frutescens | Bushy plants with upright growing fruit maturing from green through orange to bright red. Native to the Tabasco province in Mexico, these juicy chillies are for hot sauces and vinegars. | 30 000 - 50 000 SHU | HOT | 4cm long tapering pods | Ripening from green through yellow and orange to red. |
Basket of Fire | Capsicum frutescens | This compact & bushy chilli is family of Tabasco peppers and has masses of upward-facing fruit ripening from green through pale yellow, orange to bright red— like little flames. | 50 000 - 80 000 SHU | HOT | 4cm long tapering pods | Ripening from green through yellow and orange to red. |
Jingle Bells | Capsicum annuum | Jingle Bells are sweet mini bell-peppers with fruit resembling Christmas light bulbs. Delicious fresh in salads, stuffed with feta cheese, or pickled. | 0 SHU |  SWEET | Small round, bell pepper shaped | Green, red, orange and yellow. |
Peter Pecker aka Chilli Willy | Capsicum annuum | This heirloom is grown for its very unique shape! Quite piquant, it is mostly pickled. Definitely one that will be talked about if you grow it! | 5 000 - 30 000 SHU | MILD > HOT | 8-10cm phallic shaped | Green and red |
| Bull's (Cow's) Horn aka Corno di Torro  | Capsicum annuum | Producing large, oblong and tapered fruit, like a cow or bull’s horn, the Corno di Torro Pepper is sweet and delicious. Eat fresh or charred under the grill. May be mildly spicy. | 0 - 500 SHU | SWEET > MILD | Large, oblong and tapered, 20cm | Red |
Habanero - Flyer | Capsicum chinense | This habanero is fragrant and very hot. Resembling somewhat a flying saucer, they are great to use in hot sauces. | 300 000 + SHU | VERY HOT | Rounded with square tip rings. | Red |
Habanero - Lemon | Capsicum chinense | Fruity and sweet with a very hot pungency, this is a beautiful chilli which does well in pots and can be grown for use and as an ornamental. | 300 000 + SHU | VERY HOT | Lantern shaped 5cm | Yellow |
Habanero - Gambia Orange | Capsicum chinense | Habanero Gambia is a very pungent variety, which forms enormous fruits with an excellent fruity aroma. The fruits ripen from yellow and are usually strongly ribbed and wrinkled. | 300 000 + SHU | VERY HOT | Oblong and Lantern shaped. | Deep yellow to bright orange. |
Rocoto | Capsicum pubescens | These large round apple-shaped chillies (some varieties are more oblong) are also known as Manzano peppers, and are charecterized by their black seeds and hairy leaves. Very hot. | 30 000 - 100 000 SHU |  HOT > VERY HOT | Large round and apple shaped (sometimes more oblong) | Red |
Trinidad Moruga Scorpian | Capsicum chinense | The previous record holder of the World's Hottest Chilli, the Trinidad Moruga Scorpian is said to have a sweet and fruity taste (if you can get past the searing heat....) | 1 200 000 + SHU | EXCEPTIONALLY HOT | Rounded lantern shaped and wrinkled. | Red |
Salad Bell Pepper Mix | Capsicum annuum | Variety of shapes and sizes of sweet bell peppers, great for use fresh in salads or lunchboxes. | 0 SHU | SWEET | Various | Green, red, orange, yellow, purple. |
Bell Pepper -  | Capsicum annuum | Large purple bell peppers ripen to red if left on the plant. Gorgeous coloured fruit makes this a sought after hybrid. | 0 SHU | SWEET | Bell pepper | Purple to red. |
4 Comments
Hi there! I love blistered, salted Padron peppers! Any idea where I can find seeds/plants in New Zealand?
Hey Rohan, I have some seeds, but only about 3 plants (for myself!). I’ll get back into propagating for sale after this first season in my new home – needing to get myself organised with regards to the new climate and the later and shorter season. 🙂 You’re welcome to message me (minette@meadowsweet.co.nz) and I can see about getting a few seeds off to you.
To whom this may concern
It is mention on the catalog that there are ove 150 pepper varieties and over 250 varieties of tomatoes where is the list of all these variesties.
Thanks mathew
Hi Mathew, while I do keep that many tomato and pepper varieties in seeds for my own propagation, and to propagate for selling plants, I only currently have seed available through http://sentinelsgroup.co.nz)
I am only propagating a small number of select plants for sale from my home garden business in Rangiora this season (Summer 2020/2021).
Unfortunately last season, my first in my acre homestead, I suffered quite badly with all my tomatoes and peppers that I had grown for myself and for selling dying off because of herbicide contamination in the veggie mix soil that I bought at a landscape place… (See article in NZ Orgnaics magazine the March issue I think, or read here: http://meadowsweet.co.nz/2019/11/08/portraits-of-plants-damaged-from-herbicides-in-compost-soil-manure-mix/)
I am cautious this year with new soil from a new supplier and so far it looks fantastic. But as I didn’t grow any tomatoes and peppers last year, my seed sales selection is limited only to those that I had available through Sentinels Group this year. I am however hoping to increase this to a much larger selection at the end of this season again.
For an idea of the tomatoes I have grown (and should have again some of this available again for purchase after this growing season):
https://meadowsweet.co.nz/2016/08/25/terrific-tomatoes/
For an idea of the chillies I have grown (and should have again some of this available again for purchase after this growing season):
https://meadowsweet.co.nz/2016/09/24/chillies/
I’ll endeavor to put out a list of all my varieties at some point, although I won’t propagate all the varieties each year (I have limited space and manpower as MeadowSweet is just myself :)).
Trust this helps a bit. If there’s a specific cultivar you are looking for, you are welcome to ask though 🙂
Thanks.