Cayenne pepper plants

The pepper in the jar is a red powder. The plants we grow are gold and lilac.

By Debra Austin

Species: Capsicum annuum

What a cayenne actually is

A cayenne is a Capsicum annuum with a long, skinny, wrinkled pod. The name comes from Cayenne in French Guiana. The powder in a spice jar is the dried pod, ground. The plant is the same thing before anyone dries it.

Most of what people picture is red. We do not grow that one. Golden Cayenne ripens gold. Lilac Cayenne ripens a dusty purple. Both are listed at 30,000 to 50,000 SHU, the same band as a standard cayenne.

What you do with one

Dry it. That is the job the shape was built for. A thin wall loses water fast, and a dried cayenne grinds, flakes, or goes into vinegar. Fresh, it is a cooking pepper, not a snacking one. The heat sits in the medium band and it shows up in the whole dish, which is why a little pod goes a long way in a pot of food.

How hot these cayennes are

Golden Cayenne and Lilac Cayenne are both listed at 30,000 to 50,000 SHU. That is the ordinary cayenne band. The color does not move it. We do not grow the red powder cayenne, so there is no third number on this page.

Growing them

Cayennes are annuums, so they are the quicker side of the genus. They set fruit without the long wait a chinense asks for. A 3 to 5 gallon pot is enough. Keep picking and the plant keeps flowering.

Leave a few pods on the plant if you want them to dry in place. They shrivel and darken on the stem. Pull them once they are brittle.

cayenne on WikiPepper

The Cayenne we grow

Questions people ask

How hot are the cayenne plants you sell?

Golden Cayenne and Lilac Cayenne are both listed at 30,000 to 50,000 SHU.

Is this the red cayenne from the spice jar?

No. We grow a golden one and a lilac one. Same long pod and the same heat band, different color.

What species is a cayenne?

Capsicum annuum.