Brazilian starfish pepper plants

A pod that looks like a star and eats like a fruity medium pepper.

By Debra Austin

Species: Capsicum baccatum

The starfish shape

Brazilian starfish is a Capsicum baccatum whose pod flattens and pushes out points, so a ripe one looks like a star from above. It is not a bishop's crown, which is the other pointed baccatum people mix it up with. Bishop's crown folds into a bonnet. Starfish stays flatter and more geometric.

We list Brazilian Starfish, Brazilian Starfish Orange, and Orange Starfish x Aji Confusion. The cross is on this page because starfish is in the name.

Heat on the starfish we grow

Brazilian Starfish is listed at 10,000 to 30,000 SHU. That is medium and fruity, in the same neighborhood as a lot of baccatums, and far below a habanero. Color does not move the number. The orange form is not a different species.

Eating them

The wall is thin and the flavor is sweet-fruity. They work fresh in a salsa, cooked into a sauce, or dried. They are a poor stuffing pepper. The points get in the way and the cavity is shallow. Grow them because you want the flavor and the shape, not because you need bulk.

Growing starfish plants

Standard baccatum: a wide plant, a stake, a seven gallon pot, and a season long enough to ripen pods past green. The flower will show the baccatum spots. If it does not, you do not have this pepper.

The Brazilian Starfish we grow

Questions people ask

How hot is a Brazilian starfish pepper?

The one we list is 10,000 to 30,000 SHU. Medium, fruity, not a superhot.

Is a starfish the same as a bishop's crown?

No. Both are pointed baccatums. Bishop's crown collapses into a three-sided bonnet. Starfish stays flat and star-shaped.

What species is it?

Capsicum baccatum.