1
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What species are my Tran Family Chilies

Chilli Pepper    None Given

I've been growing my "Tran Family Chilies" for about 15 years. I was given seed by a Vietnamese family that fled their home in 1975 carrying a single seed pod. They shared some seed with me in 2001. As you can see from the photos, the upright growth habit and size seems to point to a variety of C. frutescens. In both the garden and in pots, my plants grow to just under a meter tall. Flowers are white with purple anthers. Within half an hour of pollination, the tiny fruit begins to turn upward until it stands upright 4 to 6 hours later. When ripe, the fruit is deep crimson red. The fruit is usually 2 - 3.8 cm long and always has blunt rounded tips. Raised from seed and transplanted to pots in early April, these plants will flower in mid to late July and produce ripe fruit by late August. They continue to bear until frost which is often in late November here in Oklahoma. With plants that are over-wintered, in February, I strip off all branches from the central stem and move them outside in March. With this early start, they will begin bearing ripe fruit by the middle of July. I have kept some of these plants in pots for as long as 8 years but they do best when repotted with fresh soil every other year. If Tabasco chilies are about 50,000 SKU, I would estimate these to be a very consistent 75,000.

As you can see from the images, most attributes are similar to Tabasco chilies or Thai chilies except that my plants have very fuzzy leaves and stems. Short of a DNA comparison, how does one identify the species to which a plant belongs? I would appreciate any ideas.

Oh, by the way, I freeze them while dry in zip lock bags where they stay very nicely for about a year and a half, at which point they begin to freeze dry. I prefer them fresh or frozen but the dry ones are ok.


Posted by: Larry Hight (2 points) Larry Hight
Posted: July 27, 2016





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