Botanic Garden >> Gardening > >> Question and Answer >> Identifying Unknown Plants

Tree with Tiny Round Chili Peppers: Likely California Pepper Tree

A gardener asks about a tree producing tiny, round, green, very spicy chili peppers.

Expert Identification: True chili peppers (Capsicum) are herbaceous, not trees. This is likely a California Pepper Tree (Schinus molle) with unripe fruit – pink/red when ripe, not spicy but peppery. Black Pepper (Piper nigrum) is a vine producing black, green, or white peppercorns depending on harvest stage. If neither matches, provide a photo for further research.

Identifying Unknown Plants: Plum Tree Jelly Exudate: Borer Activity and Organic Needle Treatment; Old Pepper Tree Decline: Internal Decay, Tumors Need Photo ID; Diagnosing Bark Peeling and Leaf Loss in Birch Trees; Tree Identification in Phoenix: Why Local Expertise Matters; Weeping Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum dissectum): A Dwarf Laceleaf Maple; Identifying the Monkey Puzzle Tree (Araucaria araucana); Tomatoes and Peppers: Companion Planting Truths; Brazilian Pepper Tree (Schinus terebinthifolius); Pepper Tree 'California': Rustic Weeping Form, Pinkish Fruit, Fire-Resistant; Controlling Peach Scab: Thinning and Fungicide Tips

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