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African Bird Pepper (Capsicum Africana)
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Posted by Dilbert z5 IL (My Page) on Thu, Aug 11, 05 at 17:54
| I heard about this spice on PBS's BBQ U TV show. Anyone know where to buy seed?
I grew peppers, Habaneros, for the first time this year and I want to try something more exotic next year. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: African Bird Pepper (Capsicum Africana)
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| I've never heard of Capsicum africana before, so I am a little skeptical about the source of the information (PBS is fine, but the fact that it's a BBQ show makes the info suspect). There are peppers know as "bird peppers," these are the wild peppers found in central america and some parts of the southern US. The other name for them is tepin or chiltepin or chillitepin. These are what I assume you are talking about. Try searching see companies for those varieties. They are small jellybean like peppers, which are quite hot. |
RE: African Bird Pepper (Capsicum Africana)
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| "Capsicum Africana" gives 49 Google hits. "African Bird Pepper" gives 599 Google hits. This is definitely indigenous to Africa and not America. |
RE: African Bird Pepper (Capsicum Africana)
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| opqdan is correct. There is no such species as C. africana- in spite of Google hits for colon cleanser-also all peppers are indienous of S. America |
RE: African Bird Pepper (Capsicum Africana)
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RE: African Bird Pepper (Capsicum Africana)
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Peppers may have originated from S. America, but there are wild peppers in Africa. The peppers in the show may have been African Birdseye peppers.
Quick Google search gave many hits, here is one:
http://www.fiery-foods.com/dave/profile_birdseye.html I got some Malawi Birdseye Pepper seeds, but have not grown those yet. |
RE: African Bird Pepper (Capsicum Africana)
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| Thank you svalli. Malawi Birdseye Pepper sounds interesting even if it is not African Bird Pepper. Unlike unicorn horns, people are selling African Bird Pepper as a ground spice. Maybe, these are scams? Some web pages claim this is Capsicum frutescens. But, irrespective of confused nomenclature, the bottom line is, "Does it have a special taste that would make it worth growing?" According to the PBS BBQ guy, it has a unique taste. |
RE: African Bird Pepper (Capsicum Africana)
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| I wasn't saying African Bird Pepper doesn't exist. There are thousands of common names for peppers. I was simply saying that Capsicum africana does not exist. The plant you are talking about is probably a Capsicum annum (tepin/pequin relative). I also didn't doubt that the pepper came from Africa, or is being grown there, even in the wild. There are 5 major pepper species:
C. annum
C. baccatum
C. chinense
C. frutescens
C. pubescens
You would be hard-pressed to find seed for a plant not included in one of these (trust me, I've been trying for a while now). There are many more and you can find there names at the UK ChileHead website. |
RE: African Bird Pepper (Capsicum Africana)
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I've 4 zimbabwe bird pepper plants (C.frutescens)
hav'nt tryed them yet. |
RE: African Bird Pepper (Capsicum Africana)
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| Correction: The TV show that I mentioned, BBQ U, is incorrect. I first heard of African Bird Pepper on the TV show, Barbecue America, and the guy who mentioned it was Rick Browne. They have a website: http://www.barbecueamerica.com/ Of all TV shows, watching this one makes me the most hungary. |
RE: African Bird Pepper (Capsicum Africana)
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| There is an African Fish Plant which I haave several of. Depending on where you are from, some places call them fish peppers because they were mostly used to flavor fish, and some call them bird peppers, because birds like to snatch the ripe peppers off the plants. |
RE: African Bird Pepper (Capsicum Africana)
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badan,
I thought I would comment on the birds eating peppers. Interestingly enough, all peppers come from a common ancestor, probably of the tepin type. These peppers are small and all are commonly called "bird peppers." The heat in peppers (capsaicin) is thought to have evolved to prevent mammals from eating the fruit. Mammals fully digest the seeds and are therefore no good at propogating the plant. Birds on the other hand will eat the peppers (birds are not effected by a peppers heat) and do not digest the seeds. The seeds are passed out of the birds body with a little fertilizer to grow a new plant. Thus, we see how the plants that specifically target birds as their vector by creating capsaicin, were the fittest to survive in their environment. |
RE: African Bird Pepper (Capsicum Africana)
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RE: African Bird Pepper (Capsicum Africana)
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| I know it as the Zimbabwe Bird Pepper. Bird peppers are capsicum annuum, and the tepin pod type. bushy growth habit with upright seed pods. |
RE: African Bird Pepper (Capsicum Africana)
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| i get my birdseye peppers at a store called WORLD MARKET. ITS A very good pepper. i have given this pepper to hard core pepper eaters, brings them to tears every time |
RE: African Bird Pepper (Capsicum Africana)
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| I bought powder marked African Bird Peper, yesterday at my local spice shop. It was the first time I saw it and gave it a small wiff (I LOVE the smell of pepers, especially Chipoltes)> My sinuses are still raw from my nose all the way down the back of my throat. Not to be intimidated by this peper, I used some last night (only 1/2 tsp) in my chili. HOT!!!!.... the kind of hot that starts as warmth in your checks, moves to the back of your neck and crawls up the back of your skull. Needless to say, I LOVED it!!! I did not notice a distictive difference in taste, but he heat level was completely altered from my normal batches. |
RE: African Bird Pepper (Capsicum Africana)
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| I bought these seeds on e-bay. I am still trying to start them inside. |
RE: African Bird Pepper (Capsicum Africana)
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| Do you suppose someone got that pepper confused with Fish Pepper? I can see how they might. Here is part of the description of Fish Pepper from Tomato Growers Supply on-line catalog. "Very hot fruit, 1 to 2 in. long, was used to season fish and shellfish in the African-American communities around Baltimore and Philadelphia back in the 1930's and 1940's." It is ornamental and might qualify as "something more exotic", Dilbert. Jim |
Here is a link that might be useful: Tomato Growers Supply
RE: African Bird Pepper (Capsicum Africana)
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Try looking up the Piri Piri pepper.
Brazilian Malagueta,Angolan birds eye are a couple other names.There are many different varieties too.
I've heard it called African Bird or birds eye peppers too.
I've seen it refered to as a bacattum and a frutescens.
It went from brazil to Portagal and Africa through the slave traders and is now wide spread in Africa and Portagal. |
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