Re: [CH] Jim Campbell's Fiery Hot Habanero Sauce

Brent Thompson (brent@hplbct.hpl.hp.com)
Thu, 27 May 1999 16:32:51 -0700

> So, Charleston Cayennes, Red and Orange Habaneros, Jalapenos, Hungarian
> cherries and Ecuadorian Aji are doing well in Vienna. No flowers yet, but I
> hope they will be coming. Just wondering if I'm apt to get any hybrinds if
> I'm not careful, and whether those would be sterile..

You can expect all C. annuum, C. frutescens, and C. chinense to cross very
freely with each other, producing fully viable seeds.  C. baccatum,
however, is reasonably unlikely to cross with annuum/frutescens/chinense
(though this is not quite the same thing as "will not cross").  So, if your
"Ecuadorian Aji" is a baccatum, and it's your only baccatum (and also you
have none of the fairly uncommon C. praetermissum or C. chacoense), then
that baccatum, and only that one, is likely to produce true seeds without
all the troublesome special precautions required to ensure true seeds from
readily crossable neighbors.  Of course, "Aji" doesn't refer solely to
baccatums, despite how we tend to think of that term, so best to verify it
is indeed a baccatum before concluding you're safe.

 ---   Brent