Scotch Bonnet Chile Pepper seed Capsicum chinense

LATIN NAME: Capsicum chinense

COMMON NAME: Scotch Bonnet

The Scotch bonnet hoods the blocky, wrinkled fruits among the broad, oval leaves, the whole plant standing in the bright, fiery look of the warm kitchen garden. The fast-growing, annual herb carries the broad, oval, pointed leaves along the erect, branched stems, and the small, white, star-shaped flowers with the yellow centres, through the summer, one of the bright, quiet sights of the warm kitchen garden, drawing the bees, to be followed by the small, blocky, lantern-shaped, wrinkled, red, orange or yellow fruits with the intense heat. The wrinkled fruits have a very long record as the fine, hot fruits of the warm lands, and the plant is a historic presence of the warm kitchen garden. It is a plant of the open, sunny, deep, rich, moist, well-drained ground.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The Scotch bonnet is a historic subject of the plant science, and the star-shaped flowers keep showing up in the work on the hot fruits. The way the small, white, star-shaped flowers with the yellow centres form along the branched stems has been studied closely, and it keeps appearing in the studies of the hot fruits, the oval leaves and the members of the nightshade family. The wrinkled fruits and the quick habit have also made it a fine study herb, and the Scotch bonnet is a regular subject of the work on the star-shaped flowers of the warm world.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

The Scotch bonnet is a bright, useful plant of the warm kitchen garden and the study collection. The broad, oval, pointed leaves along the erect, branched stems carry the bright look of the warm kitchen garden, one of the bright, quiet sights of the warm kitchen garden, drawing the bees, and the wrinkled fruits have a very long record as the fine, hot fruits of the warm lands, the fiery pods coming to the hot sauces, the stews and the steady practice of the warm kitchens, while the small, white, star-shaped flowers with the yellow centres open through the summer, to be followed by the small, blocky, lantern-shaped, wrinkled, red, orange or yellow fruits with the intense heat. It is one of the fine choices for the warm kitchen garden, the hot pot and the study collection, and it has been written about in the culinary and the horticultural papers for the wrinkled fruits and the very long history. It is a bright, useful plant of the open, sunny, deep, rich, moist, well-drained garden.

The Scotch bonnet seeds start easily in a rich, gritty compost kept warm and moist. The young plants are quick and vigorous, and they take the deep, rich ground of the warm kitchen garden well.

To grow the Scotch bonnet from seed, sow the small, flat seeds thinly across the surface of the tray of rich, gritty compost, water gently, then keep the tray in a bright, warm spot. The seedlings show themselves within a couple of weeks, and they grow on fast. With the sun and the deep, rich, moist ground, the fiery lanterns will hood over the warm months.