Leaf
Hervé GoËau, Tela Botanica · CC BY-SA 2.0
Bell pepper
Capsicum annuum L.
Also known as: Sweet pepper, Capsicum, Pepper
Family: Solanaceae
40 to 80 cm tall
Grown in vegetable gardens, under cover or outdoors in warm climates
Flowering: June – September
Full sun
Not hardy, very frost-sensitive, grown as an annual
❓ How do you recognise this plant?
The sweet pepper and the chilli are the same botanical species — it is the presence or absence of a gene producing capsaicin that determines whether the fruit is mild or hot.
🍃 Leaves
Ovate to lanceolate, smooth, bright green
🌸 Flowers
White, small, solitary or in groups of 2-3
🍎 Fruits
Hollow fleshy berry, green then red, yellow or orange when ripe depending on variety
🪵 Bark
Erect, branched herbaceous stem
🗺️ Distribution
Native to Central America; cultivated throughout France, especially in the south
🐝 Value for pollinators
Flowers self-pollinating but also visited by bees, which promotes fruit set
✂️ Horticultural uses
Fruit vegetable grown in the vegetable garden, available in mild varieties (sweet pepper) or hot ones (chilli) depending on capsaicin content
⚠️ Possible toxicity
Fruit edible; no notable toxicity to humans
🌿 Other Solanaceae to discover
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.
🌱 This database is constantly evolving — species and information are added and corrected regularly. Spotted a mistake? Report it below.
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