Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Section: Common Name: Scientific Name: Family:
Account for Cayenne Pepper - Capsicum annuum   L.
Members of Solanaceae:
Only member of Capsicum in NC.
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Section 6 » Order Solanales » Family Solanaceae
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AuthorL.
DistributionKnown from only Forsyth (1958) and Beaufort (1991) counties. Specimens from Alamance, Jackson, Orange, and Wake counties are from cultivated plants or are misidentified.

Native of Mexico; in N.A. CT to FL, TX, NM, AZ, CA. Perhaps native in southeastern AZ.
AbundanceVery rare.
HabitatTrash heap, weed in field.
PhenologyFlowering and fruiting June-October.
IdentificationCayenne Pepper is a very popular condiment, yet almost unknown to field botanists of NC. It grows several inches to 2 feet tall, with alternate, ovate to broadly lanceolate leaves and tapering to a stalk. The flowers are solitary in leaf axils, the corolla 7-10 mm long and white. The bright red to green fruits are elongate in shape, like a carrot.
Taxonomic Comments
Other Common Name(s)
State RankSE
Global RankG5
State Status
US Status
USACE-agcp
USACE-emp
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B.A. SorrieColombia, Bogota Botanical Garden, Aug 2017. Photo_non_NCPhoto_non_NC
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