Tuesday, 26 May 2015

BALLOON PEPPER

Capsicum baccatum 'Balloon' is a very unusual pod shaped variety, which is believed to have been brought from South America to Europe by the Portuguese in the 18th century. The plants are quite large growing 90-120cm tall and produce 30 to 50 extremely weird, flat winged, wrinkled almost flying saucer like 4cm wide pods. The flesh of each pod is thin athough crisp to taste and they mature from green to red approximately 90-100 days after seedlings have emerged. The body of the pods have some detectable heat, but the wings are sweet and mild.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Garden Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.


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5 comments:

  1. eileeninmd26 May 2015 at 06:43

    They are neat looking peppers, I like these colorful images. Have a happy week!

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  2. fredamans26 May 2015 at 13:13

    Very cool. Are they sweet or hot?

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  3. NCSue26 May 2015 at 16:57

    Very unusual peppers - I've never seen peppers like that!
    Thanks for linking up at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2015/05/tally-ho.html

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  4. MELAMBES20 June 2015 at 11:05

    hi Nick, are you sure it is a Capsicum baccatum? How is the color of the seeds? yellow straw? mayeb it is a Balloon Pepper?
    nice pics by the way..Paul

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    Replies
    1. Melbourne Australia Photos21 June 2015 at 05:58

      Hello, Paul. Every source I looked at identifies this as a C. baccatum. The common names vary. Some call it balloon pepper, others bishop's crown, other Christmas bell and others joker's hat. They can grow quite tall, the flesh inside each pepper is thin, yet crisp. They mature to red from a pale green colour about 90-100 days after the seedlings emerge. The body of the peppers have very little heat, with the wings being sweet and mild. The seeds are yellowish.

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