- Open-pollinated
- Hot
- 100 (estimated) days to maturity (from transplant)
- 50,000–100,000 SHU
- Red
Chiltepin
Chile tepin · Bird pepper
Open-pollinated hot pepper from Mexico. Tiny, nearly round fruit with sharp, fast heat, used dried and crushed rather than eaten whole. Ready in about 100 days from transplant.
Single source · Updated Sep 18, 2026 · Values marked like this (estimated) are estimates.
At a glance
- Heat
- Hot 50,000–100,000 SHU
- Pod
- Round <1 oz (0.5–1 g) (estimated)
Round pea-sized pods about 6 to 13 mm across that stand erect, pointing upward from the stem, ripening green through orange to red.
- Species
- Capsicum annuum
- Days to harvest
- 100 days (estimated) from transplant · Late
- Plant height
- 1½–2 ft (46–61 cm) (estimated) Compact
- Spacing
- 18 × 24 in (46 × 61 cm) (estimated)
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Position
- Handles open positions
- Growing sites
- Greenhouse · Open ground · Container
- Container growing
- Balcony friendly min. 3 gal (15 L) pot (estimated)
- Difficulty
- Easy-moderate (estimated) 2/5
- Skin
-
- Red
Heat
Scoville heat units
Hot
Chiltepin Scoville heat units: 50,000–100,000 SHU
Properly hot, the Tabasco, Cayenne Purple and Aji Amarillo band, with Chiltepin at the top of it. Used in small amounts, seeds removed if you want less.
Flavor
“Tiny, nearly round fruit with sharp, fast heat, used dried and crushed rather than eaten whole.”
Growing calendar
100 (estimated) days from transplant Late
Timing shown for temperate climates; sow indoors 7–9 (estimated) weeks before your last frost date. Look up your last frost date by ZIP code →
Disease resistance
No documented disease resistances — protect this variety with good airflow and crop rotation.
Uses & tags
- Drying
- Sauce & paste
- Hot climate
- Low maintenance
Origin
Chiltepin is the wild pepper of southern North America and northern South America, picked from wild stands in the southwestern United States and used in Mexican and Southwestern cooking. Seed suppliers list it as Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum and describe tiny, nearly round fruit; the Vegetable Cultivar Descriptions compendium records the same 13 mm fruit ripening green to red. Because it is a wild population rather than a bred cultivar, no breeding year applies to it.
Sources
Where to buy seeds
Prices rechecked dailyAll photos
Questions
How do you grow a Chiltepin plant?
A Chiltepin plant grows 1½–2 ft (46–61 cm) tall (estimated). Space plants 18 in (46 cm) apart in rows 24 in (61 cm) apart (estimated). Start seed indoors 7–9 weeks before your last frost (estimated); it germinates in 7–20 days. It needs full sun.
How long does Chiltepin take to mature?
Chiltepin is ready in about 100 days from transplant.
How hot is Chiltepin?
Chiltepin sits in the hot range, about 50,000–100,000 Scoville heat units. Figures vary between seed sellers, so treat them as a band rather than a measurement.
Can Chiltepin be grown in a container?
Yes — Chiltepin grows well in a container of at least 15 L (3 gal).
Is Chiltepin resistant to disease?
No disease resistance is documented for Chiltepin.
