Capsicum annuum

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Other common names

bell pepper, bird pepper, bonnet pepper, cayenne pepper, cherry pepper, chilli, common capsicum, cone pepper, garden ginger, goat pepper, guinea pepper, long pepper, ornamental pepper, paprika, pimento, red cluster pepper, red pepper, spur pepper

This is the wild plant from which many of our cultivated sweet peppers and chillies have been bred. It shows a wide range of fruit shapes, colours, sizes and degree of capsaicin production - from where the heat may or may not be felt. It has green leaves and usually white flowers, though occasionally tinged purple. It is actually a woody perennial but is almost always grown as an annual in the UK as it is hard to keep alive over the cooler months