Capsicum annuum

Perennial

HomePerennialCapsicum annuum

Not known in the wild.

Family: Solanaceae
Height: 1 m / 4 ft
Sun
Light, Medium and Heavy Soil
Moist

Plant Rating

Edible Uses: 4 of 5
Medicinal Uses: 3 of 5
Other Uses: 2 of 5

Native Habitat

Sweet Pepper, Cayenne Pepper, Chili Pepper, Christmas Pepper, Red Pepper, Ornamental Chili Pepper Capsicum annuum native habitat is Not known in the wild.

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw or cooked. Some varieties are very hot (the chilli and cayenne peppers) and are normally used as a pungent flavouring whilst milder varieties (the sweet peppers) have a very pleasant flavour with a slight sweetness and are often eaten raw in salads etc. The dried fruits of chilli and cayenne peppers is ground into a powder and used as a pungent flavouring called paprika. The powder from the dried ground fruit of some cultivars is added to food as a colouring. The fruits range widely in size and shape, from a few centimetres long to more than 30cm. Young leaves are said to be edible but some caution is advised. They are steamed as a potherb or added to soups and stews. The leaves contain about 4 - 6% protein. Seed - dried, ground into a powder and used as a pepper. Flowers - raw or cooked.