Types of Chili Peppers

Five species cover nearly every pepper anyone grows or eats. C. annuum holds the bells, jalapeños, cayennes, poblanos and most of Asia’s small hot chiles. C. chinense holds the habaneros, Scotch bonnets and every superhot. C. baccatum is the Andean ají. C. pubescens is the rocoto, with black seeds and hairy leaves. C. frutescens gives Tabasco and the bird peppers. Beyond those five sit about thirty wild species, a few of which are in this database.

“Type” means different things to different people, so this page sorts the same 5,791 varieties five ways: by species, by heat band on the Scoville scale, by pod shape, by ripe color, and by where the variety came from. A pepper appears in every list it belongs to. Counts are live.

By species

The domesticated five, then the wild species the database tracks.

C. annuum2,358 varieties C. annuum var. glabriusculum

C. chinense2,308 varieties

C. baccatum354 varieties

C. pubescens196 varieties

C. frutescens163 varieties

C. eximiumwild · 30 varieties C. chacoensewild · 25 varieties C. praetermissumwild · 25 varieties C. flexuosumwild · 8 varieties C. cardenasiiwild · 7 varieties C. galapagoensewild · 5 varieties

By heat

Six bands on the Scoville scale, from zero to the superhots above 500,000 SHU.

Superhot Peppers1,000,000+ SHU · 765 varieties Extremely Hot Peppers500,001–999,999 SHU · 115 varieties Very Hot Peppers100,001–500,000 SHU · 420 varieties Hot Peppers15,001–100,000 SHU · 1,385 varieties Medium-Heat Peppers1,001–15,000 SHU · 981 varieties Mild Peppers1–1,000 SHU · 348 varieties No-Heat (Sweet) Peppers0 SHU · 114 varieties

By pod shape

Shape tracks species and use more than heat does.

Bonnet Peppers96 varieties Round and Cherry Peppers266 varieties Bell Peppers149 varieties

By ripe color

Red is the default; these are the others, and the pigment behind each.

Blue/Purple Peppers132 varieties Black Chili Peppers105 varieties White Peppers152 varieties Brown and Chocolate Peppers232 varieties Peach Peppers168 varieties Yellow Peppers400 varieties Orange Peppers350 varieties

By origin

Where the variety was domesticated, bred or collected, recorded as a country of origin.

Afghanistan Peppers2 varieties Argentina Peppers10 varieties Armenia Peppers1 variety Australia Peppers5 varieties Bahamas Peppers2 varieties Bangladesh Peppers2 varieties Barbados Peppers1 variety Bolivian Peppers59 varieties Brazilian Peppers139 varieties Bulgaria Peppers2 varieties Canada Peppers1 variety Central African Republic Peppers1 variety Chile Peppers2 varieties Chinese Peppers11 varieties Colombia Peppers43 varieties Costa Rica Peppers27 varieties Cuba Peppers5 varieties Czech Republic Peppers1 variety Denmark Peppers2 varieties Ecuador Peppers38 varieties El Salvador Peppers1 variety England Peppers48 varieties Ethiopia Peppers2 varieties Finland Peppers1 variety France Peppers4 varieties French Guiana Peppers36 varieties Georgia Peppers1 variety Ghana Peppers2 varieties Greece Peppers1 variety Grenada Peppers1 variety Guatemala Peppers1 variety Guyana Peppers6 varieties Hungarian Peppers21 varieties Indian Peppers9 varieties Italian Peppers57 varieties Jamaica Peppers5 varieties Japanese Peppers8 varieties Malawi Peppers1 variety Mexican Peppers333 varieties Nepal Peppers1 variety North Macedonia Peppers3 varieties Northern Mariana Islands Peppers1 variety Panama Peppers2 varieties Paraguay Peppers1 variety Peruvian Peppers108 varieties Philippines Peppers3 varieties Portugal Peppers1 variety Puerto Rico Peppers7 varieties Russia Peppers2 varieties Sierra Leone Peppers1 variety South Africa Peppers2 varieties Spain Peppers15 varieties Suriname Peppers4 varieties Sweden Peppers2 varieties Syria Peppers3 varieties Thai Peppers57 varieties Trinidad and Tobago Peppers16 varieties Turkey Peppers10 varieties Ukraine Peppers2 varieties American Peppers43 varieties Venezuela Peppers4 varieties Wales Peppers35 varieties Zimbabwe Peppers1 variety

Side by side

The comparisons people ask for most, answered from the records.

Banana vs Pepperonciniheat, species, size, origin Jalapeño vs Serranoheat, species, size, origin Scotch Bonnet vs Habaneroheat, species, size, origin Carolina Reaper vs Ghost Pepperheat, species, size, origin Poblano vs Jalapeñoheat, species, size, origin Poblano vs Anaheimheat, species, size, origin Chiltepín vs Piquinheat, species, size, origin Habanero vs Jalapeñoheat, species, size, origin Ghost Pepper vs Trinidad Scorpionheat, species, size, origin Habanero vs Ghost Pepperheat, species, size, origin Serrano vs Habaneroheat, species, size, origin Anaheim vs Jalapeñoheat, species, size, origin Pasilla vs Poblanoheat, species, size, origin Carolina Reaper vs Trinidad Scorpionheat, species, size, origin Fresno vs Jalapeñoheat, species, size, origin Cayenne vs Jalapeñoheat, species, size, origin Scotch Bonnet vs Ghost Pepperheat, species, size, origin Ghost Pepper vs Jalapeñoheat, species, size, origin Shishito vs Padrónheat, species, size, origin Carolina Reaper vs Trinidad Moruga Scorpionheat, species, size, origin Thai vs Cayenneheat, species, size, origin Serrano vs Cayenneheat, species, size, origin Tabasco vs Cayenneheat, species, size, origin Datil vs Habaneroheat, species, size, origin Naga Morich vs Ghost Pepperheat, species, size, origin Aji Amarillo vs Habaneroheat, species, size, origin 7 Pot Primo vs Carolina Reaperheat, species, size, origin Chocolate Habanero vs Habaneroheat, species, size, origin

Looking for one pepper? Search the full database, or use the pepper identifier if you have a pod and no name.

Ask Artie!