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Habitats
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Cultivated Beds; South Wall. By. West Wall. By.
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Edible Uses
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Edible Parts: Flowers; Fruit; Leaves.
Edible Uses: Colouring; Condiment.
Fruit - raw or cooked[2, 33, 105, 132]. Some varieties are very hot (the chilli and cayenne peppers) and are normally used as a pungent flavouring whilst milder varieties (the sweet peppers) have a very pleasant flavour with a slight sweetness and are often eaten raw in salads etc[142, 238]. The dried fruits of chilli and cayenne peppers is ground into a powder and used as a pungent flavouring called paprika[238]. The powder from the dried ground fruit of some cultivars is added to food as a colouring[183]. The fruits range widely in size and shape, from a few centimetres long to more than 30cm[200]. Young leaves are said to be edible[105] but some caution is advised. They are steamed as a potherb or added to soups and stews[183]. The leaves contain about 4 - 6% protein[183]. Seed - dried, ground into a powder and used as a pepper[2]. Flowers - raw or cooked[201].
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Medicinal Uses
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Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Antidiarrhoeal; Antiemetic; Antihaemorrhoidal; Antirheumatic; Antispasmodic; Appetizer; Digestive; Irritant; Rubefacient; Sialagogue.
The fruit of the hot, pungent cultivars is antihaemorrhoidal when taken in small amounts, antirheumatic, antiseptic, diaphoretic, digestive, irritant, rubefacient, sialagogue and tonic[7, 238]. It is taken internally in the treatment of the cold stage of fevers, debility in convalescence or old age, varicose veins, asthma and digestive problems[238]. Externally it is used in the treatment of sprains, unbroken chilblains, neuralgia, pleurisy etc[238]. It is an effective sea-sickness preventative[7]. The German Commission E Monographs, a therapeutic guide to herbal medicine, approve Capsicum for muscular tension, rheumatism (see [302] for critics of commission E).
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Cultivation details
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Requires a very warm sunny position and a fertile well-drained soil. Prefers a light sandy soil that is slightly acid[201]. Tolerates a pH in the range 4.3 to 8.3. Plants can tolerate a small amount of frost[171], but this species does not normally do well outdoors in an average British summer and so it is usually grown in a greenhouse in this country[1]. However, if a very warm sheltered position outdoors is chosen then reasonable crops could be obtained in good summers. This species is widely grown throughout the world, but especially in warm temperate to tropical climates, for its edible fruit - the sweet and chilli peppers. There are many named varieties[183]. There are five basic forms of fruits, each form having various varieties. These forms are:- Cerasiforme. These have small cherry-shaped pungent fruits. Conioides. These fruits are cone-shaped and up to 5cm long. Many of them are grown as ornamentals, but some are also cultivated for food.. Fasciculatum. Also cone-shaped, but with pungent red fruits up to 7.5cm long. Grossum. These are the sweet peppers with large bell-shaped fruits and thick flesh. Longum. These are the cultivated hot cayenne and chilli peppers with long thin fruits up to 30cm long. The pungency of peppers depends upon the presence of a single gene, cultivars that lack this gene are the sweet peppers[238]. A short-lived evergreen perennial in the tropics[200], though the plants are grown as annuals in temperate zones[188]. Sweet pepper plants are good companions for basil and okra[20, 201]. They should not be grown near apricot trees, however, because a fungus that the pepper is prone to can cause a lot of harm to the apricot tree[201].
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Propagation
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Seed - sow late winter to early spring in a warm greenhouse[138]. The seed usually germinates in 3 - 4 weeks at 20°c. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots of reasonably rich soil and grow them on fast. If trying them outdoors, then plant them out after the last expected frosts and give them the protection of a cloche or frame at least until they are established and growing away well.
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Links / References
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[1]F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956
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Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
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[2]Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World.
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Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
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[7]Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants.
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Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.
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[20]Riotte. L. Companion Planting for Successful Gardening.
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Fairly good.
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[33]Organ. J. Rare Vegetables for Garden and Table.
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Unusual vegetables that can be grown outdoors in Britain. A good guide.
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[105]Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
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The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
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[132]Bianchini. F., Corbetta. F. and Pistoia. M. Fruits of the Earth.
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Lovely pictures, a very readable book.
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[138]Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 3.
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Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation.
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[142]Brouk. B. Plants Consumed by Man.
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Readable but not very comprehensive.
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[171]Hill. A. F. Economic Botany.
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Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.
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[183]Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants.
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Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
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[188]Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers
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Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.
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[200]Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
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Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
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[201]Allardice.P. A - Z of Companion Planting.
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A well produced and very readable book.
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[238]Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses.
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A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
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[301]Karalliedde. L. and Gawarammana. I. Traditional Herbal Medicines
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A guide to the safer use of herbal medicines.
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[302]From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Commission E
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commission_E
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Subject : Capsicum annuum
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