Capsicum chinense or "Chinese capsicum" is a misnomer since all capsica originate in the New World. Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin (1727-1817), an Austrian botanist, named the species in that way in 1776, because he believed that they originated in China. Most of the peppers of this species have a distinctive flavor and are similar in flavor to each other.
| Name | Hotness | Length | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adjuma | 100,000-500,000 SR | Very hot, originally from Suriname. | ||
| Ají dulce | 0 - 50 SR | |||
| Bird's eye | 50,000-150,000 SR | 4 cm (1.5 in) | A Southeast Asian cultivar known by many local names, but generally called Thai Chilies in the USA. Thin fruit with a pointed tip. | |
| Datil | 100,000 to 300,000 SR | A very hot chili; primarily grown in Florida. | ||
| Fatalii | 125,000-325,000 SR | 6 cm (2.4 in) | Native to central and southern Africa. Very similar in appearance to and often confused with the Devil's Tongue habanero. | |
| Madame Jeanette | 100,000-350,000 SR | Originally from Suriname. | ||
| Habanero | 100,000 - 350,000 SR | 5 cm (2 in) | Once considered to be the hottest chili pepper, the Habanero has been surpassed by other hot varieties, but it is nonetheless hotter than most commonly available cultivars. The habanero has a subtle fruity flavour and a floral aroma. It is closely related to many of the other very hot peppers, including the Bhut Jolokia and Naga Jolokia (also called Ghost Peppers) from India, and the Scotch Bonnet, Trinidad Scorpion Butch T, and Trinidad Moruga Scorpion peppers from the Caribbean. Disseminated to China over 500 years ago by Spanish and Portuguese explorers, it became so much a part of Chinese cuisine that botanists who found it in China thought it was native to the area and thus named this species Capsicum chinense, based on the Habaneros from China. | |
| Bhut Jolokia | up to 1,500,000 SR | 6 cm (2.4 in) | Cultivar that originated in Northeast India and was once confirmed by Guinness World Records to be the hottest pepper. It is an interspecies hybrid, largely C. chinense with some C. frutescens genes (see Naga jolokia) | |
| Scotch bonnet | 150,000 - 325,000 SR | 5 cm (2 in) | Named because of its resemblance to a tam o'shanter, this fruit is closely related to the habanero and is similarly hot. Due to its heat and distinct flavour, it is often used in Caribbean cuisine. | |
| Trinidad Scorpion Butch T | up to 1,400,000 | Former world-record hottest chili. | ||
| Trinidad Moruga Scorpion | up to 2,000,000 | World-record for hottest chili as of 2012. | ||
| Mora chili | Small chili about five inches long and two wide, purple. It is always used dry. It is extremely spicy. It is used as a substitute for chipotle when more powerful spice is needed. | |||
| Morita chili | Morita chili is smaller than the Mora chili. |
Read more about this topic: List Of Capsicum Cultivars