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jungleexplorer

Update: Success!

Back in the spring I posted about my attempt to germinate some tropical pepper seeds that a friend of mine brought back from South America.

Well, out of 50 seeds, only three germinated. I tried to grow them in my green house but the drought here in the south was so hot and dry that I was forced to bring them indoors. I don't know what kind of peppers these are but I have never seen a pepper plant or pepper fruit like this before. The plants are huge! One is about four feet tall and the other is almost five feet tall. Some of the leaves are as big as a man's hand. Several measure 9" long and 4.5" wide.

I was ecstatic when the first blossoms came on. Never having grown peppers inside before it took some time before I realized I needed to apply for a job as a honey bee so I could pollinate the flowers. LOL! After a lot of work and hundreds of blossoms I finally got some fruit. I have 30 peppers growing on one plant right now. I have not been able to get any fruit on the other plant (the taller one). Some have suggested that this might be a male plant. I know nothing about what type of peppers these are or whether or not they are a type of plant that has to have a male and a female.

I am not sure which pollination technique worked. I have used the Q-Tip technique the most. But I have also tried blowing fans from different angles and leaving the big windows open that they are next to on windy days. I must have done something right because I got 30 fruits all at once. I have not been able to get a single fruit since. I would take them outside and place them close to one of my honey bee hives now that it is cooler, but they are so delicate I am afraid it would kill them. Their trunk is so weak and they are so big that even trying to move the base can cause them to bend over.

I am wondering if I need to put a grow light on them. The days are getting shorter and they are not getting any direct sunlight because they are next to my dinning room windows that are on the north side of my house, and of course the sun is moving further south each day. From what I have heard about these peppers, they grow and produce year around in the tropics. I wonder if that is possible here?

I am going to try and post some pictures. I have never done it on this forum.

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Oh! Just in case your were wondering. My wife finally twisted my arm and I let her eat one of the peppers yesterday. It was very hot. Not as hot as a Habanero, but pretty darn close. But the taste is out of this world. No pepper I have ever tasted even comes close. Just aromatic smell of the pepper when crushed is incredible.

Comments (20)

  • wertach zone 7-B SC
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    What part of SA? I have tried to grow different things from Bogota, Colombia, my wife is from there. Bogota is basically day neutral, I guess that's the right term? The sun stays the same year round. Plus it is high altitude and is about 60 to 70 degrees year round.

    I had several things germinate, most died in the heat here. The corn that I brought back grew 14' tall! Didn't taste the same, but still good. It was about 4' to 6' tall in the fields and gardens there.

    I ate a similar looking pepper while I was visiting my in-laws, it was about like a Jalapeno, heat wise, but lots of flavor. Kind of a sweet aftertaste.

  • northerner_on
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I am new to this forum and in my first post, I wanted to identify a pepper plant. Someone sent me this link:

    http://www.g6csy.net/chile/database.html

    which I have found invaluable in researching varieties of peppers sent to me in trades. You might want to check it out and see if you find yours there. Seems you have a beauty!!!

  • The Jungle Explorer
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I believe my friend bought the seeds in Manaus, Brazil. That would be the heart of the Amazon. I used to live there years ago and have eaten this pepper in a dried powder form for years. I never thought of growing it myself while I was there because it was so popular and readily available at the local markets. It is known by a native name, "Tucupie". But that name is not the actual name of the pepper. It is the name of the spice that is made from the pepper. I never learned the actual name of the pepper itself. When I moved back to the US in 2006 I brought a two liter bottle of the dried powder spice made from the pepper back with me to the US. Everyone I have shared it with has said it was the best tasting pepper seasoning they have ever tasted and wanted some more. As my stock began to dwindle because of my friends twisting my arm for more is when I got worried that I might run out. So, when I heard my friend was going to the same region on a fishing trip, I asked him to pick up some more powder for me and see if he could get some seeds as well, so I could grow it here and not have to worry about running out (my whole family is kind of addicted to this pepper, not to mention more then a few of my friends). My friends said he got the seeds from a local seller of the pepper powder. But the truth is that I am not sure if this is the actual pepper plant I am trying for. It seems that the pepper powder is made from any several varieties of peppers that are native to the Amazon. Just from the shape and size of this pepper, I know that I never saw it sold in it's whole fruit form in the markets when I lived there. So it is one of the rarer native peppers of the Amazon to be sure. I would really love to positively identify it though. I will give the website that was suggested a look over. Thanks.

  • jcav8ter
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I travel to Brazil regularly. I'll see if I can find that spice and the peppers if possible.

    John

  • The Jungle Explorer
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    That would be great. I have a correction to make though. The spice made from the pepper is not called "Tucupie" as I said before. It has been years since I lived there and I remembered last night that Tucupie is a pepper sauce made in a bottle with the malageta pepper and the juice of the sweet casava root. Also extremely tasty, but the powder spice I am talking about is not made from the malageta pepper. It is also not sold in commercial stores. You can only find it the farmer markets and it is usually sold by people of native Amazonian origen. I will try hard to remember what the name of the powder is called and post it later. For some reason the name has excaped me. I use to know it though. It is a native name as well.

  • jcav8ter
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    If you remember it, send me an email. Heading to Rio tomorrow night. Next month I think I'll be in Sao Paulo and Brasillia. In any case can you harvest some seeds from those? I'd be very happy to do some trading.

    John

  • The Jungle Explorer
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    After enough research to have discovered life on another planet, I think I am getting close to what type of pepper I have. I am trying to match 7 criteria; Shape, Size, Color, Flower, Plant, Taste and Region. I have found many peppers of all most identical shape ans size. They all belong to Capsicum Chinense. I have found one pepper that matches 5 of the seven criteria (shape, size, color, taste and region) and that is the "CGN 16994 Long". But the CGN 16994 Long has very different flower then mine. The flowers on my plant are white petals with a light yellow center. The flowers of the CGN 16994 Long have white petals with a dark purple center. The pods of the CGN 16994 Long also start out a purple color, where as the pods on my plant start out light green. The plant of the CGN 16994 Long also has some purple on the stems. Mine does not. There is a pepper in Brazil that looks similar called the Pimenta De Cheiro (Aroma Pepper). But it is a sweet pepper with very little heat, where as my peppers are almost as hot as a Habanero.

    Boy! This is hard!

  • jcav8ter
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    As I mentioned before I travel to Brazil regularly. Tried finding a pepper like yours at a local market in Brasilia with no luck. Next week I'll be in Sao Palo and will check out the markets there. No luck with any of the locals recognizing it either. I'll keep checking though.

    John

  • wtmky
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    That pepper certainly looks like a C. chinense of some sort although the flower as you describe it makes it unusual. I grew something called 'UFO' from Terra Time & Tide that looks similar but they had a more pronounced top shape. Would be interested in setting up a trade if you have a few seeds available. E-mail me if interested.

    Wayne

  • The Jungle Explorer
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank you John. I did a lot more research since my last post and have uncovered even more information. I am now almost certain that my peppers are of the Capsicum Chinense variety.
    I was up until 3:00am looking through thousands of pictures. I found that the term Peminta de Cheiro, is basically a catch-all term that locals call any native pepper that is not a Malagueta, Bode, or Dedo de Moca pepper.

    I found the information about the CGN 16994 Long on a German seed site ( http://www.semillas.de/cgi-bin/shop_en/shop.cgi?shop=&product=Peppers%20BC&cart_id=8368530.3812 ). The pictures of the CGN 16994 Long below are from that site. Although, they seem to be the only ones in the world that have the CGN 16994 Long (or at least for sale on the internet), because I can't find another reference to the CGN 16994 Long. Any other reference to the CGN 16994 Long is just a copy , word for word, of what is said on their site.

    I found a site that had a pepper picture that looked very similar to my peppers and they called it "Cumari do Para".


    But doing a search for the name "Cumari do Para", led to no other pictures of similar looking peppers.

    The Cumari pepper, I know as "Olho de Peixe" (Fish Eye). But it is a small pea size yellow pepper
    {{gwi:1231069}} The Cumari is extremely hot and delicious.

    So the CGN 16994 Long(wish a knew it's local name) still appears to be the closest I have found. It matches five of the seven criteria I am looking for. Below are the pictures from the German seed site next to pictures I took of my plant. These might help a little.

    Flower and young pod of the CGN 16994 Long

    Flower of my plants

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    Brand new pod on my plants.

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    Young pod next to ripe pod on my plant. Finger is for size comparison.

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    This is the predominate shape of the ripe pods on my plants.

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    Ripe CGN 16994 Long pods.

    Oh and, Wayne, if I am successful at collecting seeds and starting new plants from my current pods, I would be glad to do some seed trading.

  • smokemaster_2007
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    You Might try this link below.
    Wild stuff...

    Here is a link that might be useful: Wild Chilli

  • The Jungle Explorer
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks for the link smokemaster. Looked through their data base but could not find anything even close to mine. I found this other site (http://www.reimerseeds.com), with the most extensive list of varieties and pictures I have found yet. No match there either. All I have to say about my pepper is this, it must but really rare.

  • wtmky
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    A C. chinense with yellow anthers is very uncommon though not unheard of. They are described in literature but have never come across one in many years of growing peppers. I don't think you will ever find an exact match commercially available. It is probably a land race from the area where it was gathered and as such you probably have the only specimens outside Brazil. As I said previously I am quite interested in this variety because of the unusual anther color and wish you luck in getting seeds from it.

    Wayne

  • smokemaster_2007
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Did you post a pic of the plant etc. over on Wild Chilli?
    Maybe some one there can help you out.

    I'm also interested in seeds when you have them.
    Trade,I have a decent seed collection...

  • rick_in_va
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    This pepper looks a lot like Aji Limo Rojo.

    http://www.peppermania.com/chinense_3.html

    Also see link below.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Aji Limo Rojo

  • The Jungle Explorer
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Yes, a similar shape indeed. Looks to be quite a bit larger then mine though, and it comes from Peru. What do the flowers and the young pods look like?

  • smokemaster_2007
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Aji Limo Rojo,I think they are much bigger pods than the mystery plant he has.
    These were from Peppermania seeds in 2010.

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  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Indoor pods will tend to be significantly smaller....got to keep that in mind, too.

    Josh

  • rick_in_va
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Aji Limo Rojo is also in the same family, C. chinense, and the heat seems to be about the same, around 50k SHU, not as hot as habaneros but in same family.

  • Zeak Rice
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hope you can get it a goin so's maybe someday we can get a seed or two for all of our gardens n hot pepper addiction.

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