I just moved to Southern California and our place has a very nice garden. There are 3 pepper plants that I need help identifying. thanks here are some pics and basic descriptions... Plant 1 this plant has elongated peppers that reach about 2 inches long. this plant also has small white flowers. however i didn't get any good pics of the flowers. the whole plant is about 2 feet tall. Plant 2 I think that this maybe the same as plant 3, just much smaller. This plant is about 2 feet tall, the peppers are bulb like and change colors starting out green, then black, then red. The peppers get to be an inch long. There are no noticable flowers on this one, but there are on Plant 3. Plant 3 This plant is about 6 feet tall. Like plant 2, this plant produces bulb shaped peppers that have inch long peppers max, there are many fully mature peppers that are 1/2 inch. They start out green then turn black, then red once mature. This plant also produces small white flowers. Thanks again for your help
If no additional responses here, you may have to check your local library and look for either: Peppers of the World: An Identification Guide by Dave Dewitt, 1997 or The Complete Chile Pepper Book: A Gardener's Guide to Choosing, Growing, Preserving, and Cooking by Dave Dewitt, 2009 Sorry, we have neither here at the Garden, as peppers do not do well in our local climate.
They all look like Capsicum annuum to me. I could not determine which varieties they are and I think that would be very difficult for anyone, although the second may be jalapeño. All three will be safe to eat. I would guess they are all hot. Capsicum annuum has white flowers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsicum
