Unknown pepper from Bangladesh - help

[ScottinAtlanta]

Here are the two peppers I grew from seed from Dhaka. I got the seed from Bombay Morich peppers in a farmers' market. The pepper on the left is the true Bombay Morich - a superhot that tastes so citrusy it is like biting into a red hot orange. My 8 Bombay Morich plants took 4 months to reach mature fruit - I will over winter them for a big crop next year.

I am writing about the two on the right - they came from a pepper from the same basket, but are not the Bombay Morich. The wrong pepper got into the Bombay Morich basket. They are smooth, gourd shaped. Nice beautiful fruit, superhot but on the low end of superhot - less hot than the Yellow Fatali, for example.

Can anyone suggest what these two might be? I am stumped.

[Mojave]

I don't know, but they're beauties.

I can ask the folks over at THP if you don't mind me using your picture.

[ScottinAtlanta]

Not at all, Bill. Appreciate it.

[Mojave]

Sorry Scott, no luck so far over at THP. I've searched through tons of chinense photos and can't come up with anything. Will you be growing this one next year?

[ScottinAtlanta]

Yes, I will save some seeds. I like them, but don't particularly like growing anonymous peppers.

The unknown pepper is more like the Scotch Bonnet than like the stinger-shaped superhots like the nagas and morichs. But they are larger and rounder than the Scotch Bonnet. Flesh is crisp and rather thick walled. Color when fully ripe is orange red.

[ChilliJez]

Originally Posted by ScottinAtlanta

Yes, I will save some seeds. I like them, but don't particularly like growing anonymous peppers.

The unknown pepper is more like the Scotch Bonnet than like the stinger-shaped superhots like the nagas and morichs. But they are larger and rounder than the Scotch Bonnet. Flesh is crisp and rather thick walled. Color when fully ripe is orange red.

Scott, I've been pondering this since you posted. It doesn't resemble anything I've grown and I can't think of anything from that part of the world thatlooks similar. Some images of other peppers look similar but south/central America not Bangladesh.

From your initial post I'm guessing that you bought pods from a market stall and grew out from saved seeds. If you didn't select an atypical pod from that purchase, I suspect that you've got F1 pods from an unintentional cross.

All ifs and maybes but if you like the flavours grow the next generation - as many plants as you can - and if you have the variation you'd expect you'll know it's a hybrid and if all are similar you'll know it's stable and a local variety to identify.

It sounds like a great thing to investigate. If you have seeds to spare and would like more participants I'd send you an sase and grow some out.

From my point of view, not meaning to offend anyone, I would always be very wary of identifying a variety without knowing categorically what it was. I'd urge you not to give it a name until you have known seed of that variety to compare it to.

By the way, it's not an un-named variety. It's called "Scott's Dhaka Marvel" Didn't you know?

[ChilliJez]

Forgot to request - do you have pictures of the plant? Growth habit? Leaves, flowers etc.

I've been assuming it's chinense nd I'm guessing you've IDd it as that. More fruit pics would be good too.

[ScottinAtlanta]

Chilli, I believe I solved the puzzle. The mystery pepper is a mislabelled Red Congo Habanero from a pepper I bought in Trinidad. I compared the fruits and leaves to a properly labelled Red Congo in another garden, and I believe they are the same. I don't know how it was mislabeled - I am usually very careful. Sorry to waste your time with this fake mystery.

[Sun City Linda]

haha, just posted this on the mystery Lemon Pepper thread too. How I HATE Operator Error.....when I am the operator

[biscgolf]

looks like my red congos as well.

that bombay morich is wicked looking. if you want to part with any of that seed i have a pretty good variety of peppers i'd be happy to trade.

[ScottinAtlanta]

Sure - let you know when I have seed. They are slow to ripen, but we have a week ahead of 70s weather in Atlanta, and I should have several ripe ones. I will post a pic of a fully ripe one at that point.

[Wi-sunflower]

While I'm late to this party, I wanted to add that those chiles also look like something I grew about 20 years ago called a Rocotillo. They are supposed to be from the Caribbean. I think they are pictured on the big hot chile poster that came out around that same time. And yes they seem to be in the Habanero / Chinese family.

While I grew them for a couple of years I found them to be quite variable and changeable as they most likely are more prone to crossing with other nearby chiles than most other varieties I used to grow.

Carol

[ChilliJez]

Carol, I thought of Rocotillo too, though I believed Scott was trying to identify a pepper from Bangladesh. I'm interested in what you thought of it. Rocotillo is on my must grow list after reading this in Jean Andrews' book;

"I have grown and tasted peppers from all over the Western Hemisphere, and my hands-down favorite "eating" pepper is the rocotillo."

I thought I was growing it this year but my plant turned out to be the baccatum imposter. Nice enough but not the real deal. Doh! There's always next year!

I really like Fatalii. It's a dependable, well flavoured genuinely hot, productive and a little earlier than most chinenses. It is citrussy in it's flavour but for me nowhere near Hot Lemon/Lemon Drop for truly lemon flavour. Both are on my grow every year list.

Jeremy

[Wi-sunflower]

Jeremy,

Frankly that was so long ago, more than 15 years, and I was rather a neophyte at eating hot chiles at that time, so I really don't remember. Also I had gotten the seeds from Totally Tomatoes back in 1 of their first years and to tell the truth, their chile seeds at that time were less than reliably true to type. I do remember it was productive tho, and easier to grow than Habs back then.

Just because a variety originated somewhere else doesn't mean that it isn't grown in the India / Bangladesh area now as they do grow and export a lot of hot chiles. Don't forget chiles didn't originate in that area but were taken there probably by the Portuguese after they colonized both Brazil and Goa. India.

And yes I also really like the various Fatalii chiles and feel they get overlooked because of their similarity to the Habs.

Carol

[ScottinAtlanta]

Folks I think the odd pepper is too hot to be Rocotillo. I am convinced it is a Red Congo, which is much hotter.

Here is the REAL Bombay Morich, finally ripening just as the weather turns here in Atlanta. Have you ever seen a more wicked looking pepper? I will have a few seeds if someone is interested - send me a pm with address. No SASE needed.