Capsicum annuum ‘Explosive Ember’ (Ornamental pepper)

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Capsicum annuum ‘Explosive Ember’

Ornamental pepper

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Solanales	Potatoes, eggplants, tomatoes, peppers, tobacco, petunias, sweet potatoes, morning glories, many others
Family	Solanaceae	Nightshade or potato family
Genus	Capsicum	From Greek κάπτω, kapto, “to bite”
Species	annuum
Cultivar	‘Explosive Ember’

About plant names...

Cayenne peppers are natives of southern North America and northern South America. Most of the peppers we eat or grow as ornamentals are cultivated from this species, including anchos, banana peppers, cayennes, de árbols, guajillos, jalapeños, anaheims, Italian sweets, pasillas, peperoncinis, pimentos, poblanos, serranos, and tabascos. (A few, habaneros among them, have other origins.) The 'Black Pearl' cultivar was developed by the U.S. National Arboretum, as an ornamental plant.

If you are curious as to the origins of cayenne peppers, consider Kraig Harris Kraft's 2009 dissertation on the subject, The domestication of the chile pepper, Capsicum annuum: Genetic, ecological, and anthropogenic patterns of genetic diversity.

Identification: These peppers are perennials in warm climates, but they must be replanted from seeds in cooler climes. They are 10-14″ (25-35 cm) high, and 8-10″ (20-25 cm) around. New foliage is bright purple. Leaves are oblong-ovate, ovate, or ovate-lanceolate, about 1-2″ (2.5-5 cm) long, and black. Flowers are white and purple. Fruits are bright red, about ¾-1″ (1.9-2.5 cm) long, generally upward-pointing.

Edibility: Like most small chili peppers, these are edible and very hot—about 30,000 Scoville units—in the range of tobasco. (Note: not all ornamental peppers are edible though.)

Online References:

Nature’s Best Masked Flower Images

Flickr

Ugatrial.hort.uga.edu

CalPhotos (Capsicum annuum)

The Missouri Botanical Garden

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (Capsicum annuum)

Wikipedia (Capsicum annuum)

EFloras (Capsicum annuum)

References:

Fayaz, Ahmed, Encyclopedia of Tropical Plants: Identification and Cultivation of Over 3000 Tropical Plants, Firefly Books, 2011, p. 663

Graf, Alfred Byrd, Exotic Plant Manual: Fascinating Plants to Live With—Their Requirements, Propagation, and Use, Roehrs Company, 1974, p. 386