Pepper 'Ghost (Bhut Jalokia)'
Every six months or so some new pepper is crowned as "hottest in the world," and some new sweaty, grinning guy is pictured online holding the latest mutation of a Naga Viper, Trinidad Scorpion or Carolina Reaper with Scoville Heat units are up over 2 million. YouTube videos abound of, again, sweaty guys eating super hot chilis, but often they are not grinning. The Ghost pepper checks in at a mere million-plus Scovilles; for comparison a Fatalii ranges from 100,000 to 300,000 Scovilles and a Jalapeno from 3,000 to 6,000. Looking like a wrinkled deep red Fatalii or Habanero, the fruits are 2-3" long, set prolifically on bushy plants with shiny dark foliage. Reportedly a cross between Capsicum frutescens(Tobasco, bird peppers) and C. chinense (Fatalii, Habanero). As they originate in Assam, in northeast India, a long season is required to set fruit. DO try this at home, for best results, just grow it in a nice pot this far north. Bring it in to overwinter if you can; leaves may drop, but nurse it along until spring and you will be rewarded with hundreds of fruit the second year. That's a lot of hot!
