bell pepper

Also known as: bird pepper; bonnet pepper; cayenne pepper; cherry pepper; chilli; common capsicum; cone pepper; garden ginger; goat pepper; guinea pepper; long pepper; ornamental pepper; paprika; pimento; red cluster pepper; red pepper; spur pepper; sweet pepper

This is the wild plant from which many of our cultivated sweet peppers and chillies have been bred. It shows a wide range of fruit shapes, colours, sizes and degree of capsaicin production - from where the heat may or may not be felt. It has green leaves and usually white flowers, though occasionally tinged purple. It is actually a woody perennial but is almost always grown as an annual in the UK as it is hard to keep alive over the cooler months