African Red Devil pepper - Capsicum frutescens

Public Domain Photo: African red devil pepper with ripe and unripe fruits

African Red Devil pepper (other names: Piri Piri, Pili Pili, Bird's Eye Chili, African Devil) is a cultivar of Capsicum frutescens that grows both in the wild and as a cultivated crop. The plants grow 45 to 120 cm tall, and the fruits measure up to 8 to 10 cm. Thai Chili peppers (aka phrik khi nu, siling labuyo, etc.) of the subspecies Capsicum frutescens L. are a similar and related variety commonly found in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore. It can also be found in India (mainly in Kerala, known as Kanthari Mulagu) and rural Sri Lanka (known as Kochchi in Sinhalese).The name Bird's Eye Chili is also used for the North American Chiltepin pepper.

It is an extremely spicy member of the Capsicum genus, with its ‘heat’ measure up to 175,000 SHU (Scoville Heat Units), while Bell Peppers rank at 0 SHU, New Mexico green chilies at about 1,500 SHU and Habaneros at 300,000 SHU. The record for the hottest chili pepper was assigned by Guinness World Records to the Naga Jolokia from India (also known as Bhut Jolokia, Ghost Chili, Nai Mirris, Cobra Chilli, etc), measuring over 1,000,000 SHU, while pure capsaicin (the substance that make chili peppers hot), measures only 16,000,000 SHU.

Photos of similar varieties are below:

Public Domain Photos: Peppers of the subspecies Capsicum frutescens L. variously known as Thai chili peppers, phrik khi nu, siling labuyo, Kanthari Mulagu, Kochchi, etc.