Chiltepin (Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum)


   


Chiltepin (Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum), also known as chiltepe or chile tepin. It is a species of chile pepper native to parts of southern United States (Texas, Arizona, and Florida), the Bahamas, Mexico, Central America and Columbia. Chiltepin is the official native pepper of Texas.

Chiltepin pepper is a small pepper, about 1 cm in diameter, with round to slightly oval shape. It is also known as 'bird's eye' or simply 'bird pepper' due to the consumption and spread by wild birds. It is an extremely hot pepper, measuring 50,000-100,000 SHU (Scoville Heat Unit).

Chiltepin peppers usually grow on rocky surfaces of steep slopes and are difficult to find, because they are usually protected by other shrubbery. In Mexico, the heat of the chiltepin is called arrebatado, meaning rapid or violent. The heat is intense and not very enduring.



Chiltepin peppers
photo sourcehttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chiltepin_mexico_sonora.jpg
authorshipRaudi
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Dried Chiltepin peppers
photo sourcehttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Capsicum_annuum_chiltepin_dried.jpg
authorshipCarstor
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