PI 543208

What a peculiar name!  USDA’s Agricultural Research Service assigns names as part of their system to catalog and manage plant germplasm. Each PI number is assigned to a specific plant accession in the National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS), which includes a wide variety of plant species and varieties. This system is crucial for the conservation, study, and utilization of genetic plant material, including that of various types of peppers and other important crops.  With that said….

The pepper known as PI 543208 is a notable variety in the world of Capsicum chinense. This spicy character was gathered from Trinidad in the Beni Department, Cercado Province of Bolivia. Its unique characteristics might just make it a standout in the pepper community!

What’s interesting about PI 543208 is its beak-shaped fruits, which bear a resemblance to the Biquinho pepper. These peppers start off yellow-green and then mature to a striking orange, much like a sunset you might enjoy from, well, 155 meters up! They’re known for their piquant flavor, which is just a fancy way of saying they pack quite the punch.

Now, if you’re curious about the nitty-gritty details of this pepper’s journey, it was collected between September 8, 1988, and December 12, 1988, and made its way into the hands of the National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) in November 1989. This little pepper has had quite the journey!

For those who love the specifics, this information was all gathered from the NPGS website, which is like the biography section for peppers. So next time you enjoy a spicy dish, think of PI 543208, the pepper with a bit of an elevation complex!