This tree/bush was in my yard when I moved in and has given these 11/2" long 3/4" wide chiles, they start out black and green and then turn red. They are as hot as a Habanero chile with a different flavor. Can anyone give me a clue?
these sound like jalapino chilies i grow a lot of these and they always turn black before going red but you can pick these at any time from green / black /red...but the red ones taste a bit sweeter i freeze most of mine whole and use throughout the year or pickle them in white wine vinegar be sure to punch 3 holes in them or they will float the longer you leave them the sweeter they become..
Not a Jalapeno type. Jalapenos are pendalent (hang down) and are at best moderately hot. Look through this data base for an upright growing chili that starts black. It may be an ornamental type many of them do grow upright and start out black and turn red , Examples Black Cluster, Black Cuban, Black Coban. They also tend to be very hot, but not much flavor otherwise. Other upright growing hot peppers like the Tobasco go from green to red. http://www.g6csy.net/chile/database.html
Hard to say but that looks more purple than black to me in the photo. A lot of the black varieties mentioned above typically have purple or purple and green foliage which I don't see in the picture. Black Plum might work, since it has pods about the same size as yours that go from green to black to red. The plants are small (12 to 18") so knowing how tall the plant is would be helpful. Also, do the peppers remain upright or do they eventually hang on the plant?
In any case it's not a Jalapeno. Probably considered ornamental if it's as hot as you say.
There's a database you can search at http://www.thechileman.org/search.php but good luck, as yours could be any of dozens of types. The database I linked to does contain pictures of the flowers for many varieties so that will help narrow it down a little.
Because there are thousands of species of chili and a lot of them look very much the same a good place to start is the flower petals. The petals will probably help you narrow it down to 1 of the 5 cultivated species of chili. From there you can look at pod type, color changes as it ripens, orientation of the pods--that is do they grow upwards or downwards. This will help you identify the cultivar. Good luck.
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