Aji Limon
From Tatiana's TOMATOBase
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Tatiana Kouchnareva (B.C KO T). Peru Yellow - ripe fruit. 2014-09-20.
| Aji Limon | |
|---|---|
| Classification | C. baccatum |
| Type | aji |
| Fruit color | yellow |
| Fruit shape | conical, long, slim |
| Fruit size | small |
| Heat level | medium |
| Scoville Heat Units (SHU) | 15,000-30,000 |
| Maturity | midseason |
| Variety type | open-pollinated |
| Country | Peru |
B.C KO T
- Mid-to late season. 3' gangling plants typical for baccatum species. Cone-shaped pods mature from green to bright yellow and are 2.5-3" long and 0.5"-0.75" in diameter. Not many seeds. Deliciously hot with some subtle lemon flavor and therefore well suited for fish and chicken dishes. Very high yields.
Seed source:
- Pepper Gal 13
Year grown:
Location: Zone 7b, PNW, Anmore, BC, Canada (760 ft above sea level)
History
- Originated in Peru, where it is very popular and known as Kellu Uchu.
- First offered in the Seed Savers 1999 Yearbook by William Woys Weaver of Paoli, Pennsylvania (PA WE W), who got the seeds from Jack Ruttle, Alburtis, Pennsylvania in 1996. This is what Jack Ruttle wrote about it in July 2016:
- "HI Tatiana, I’m Jack Ruttle the person who introduced this pepper ( see SSE yearbook 2015 . p. 232), and I thought you might like to hear a little more of the story behind it. I have spent my whole professional career writing and publishing info on plants. I was at Organic Gardening mag from 1975 to 1988, and then at National Gardening from 1988 to 1996, and then at Garden Design from 1996 to 2004. ( Now retired) And because we often published info about new varieties, I was often sent seed to test. So many I really couldn’t test them all. I can’t remember the year but I believe it was around 1990, I was sent seed for this unnamed pepper from Shepherd’s Seeds in California. I liked it and saved seed from it. And was glad I did, because they never introduced it. Perhaps because it was slow to germinate, maybe because it was so very hot — I have no idea. Many experimental varieties we were sent were never introduced. So I continued to grow it and save seed , and on a visit to my place, William Woys Weaver asked for some, and I was happy to send some along with him. In the late 90’s I was working for the Burpee Seed Co and gave some of the seed to them too, along with the name I came up with for it Hot Lemon. In autumn of the year I got the pepper, I called Shepherd’s seeds and was told they called the pepper Limon, and they thought the pepper was purchased at a veg market in Ecuador. Limon is of course Spanish for lemon, and I think the pepper has that name because it has a pure lemon-yellow skin when ripe. The pepper has a delicious aroma/flavor that is not like either ordinary hot peppers or like Habaneros. I think it’s crazy the way so many people swear it has a citrus flavor … under the influence of the name Lemon, no doubt. The flavor is unique and reminds me most of some sort of pine-sap fragrance, definitely not citrus, tho. I just google-imaged the name Hot Lemon, and most of the pics show the pepper that I originally got. They are about 3” long , narrow and wrinkly. Some show a stubbier pepper with a pointed tip — it’s an off type and may be a natural hybrid. I don’t have the pepper anymore. Deer destroyed my veg garden about 12 years ago. But this year out of curiosity I am growing the pepper Lemon Drop — I bought the plants from a neighbor who is the local pepper king. When I showed him my Limons 15 or 20 years ago, he said they were the same as Lemon Drop. When these ripen, I’ll let you know what I think on that score."
- According to Wikipedia, baccatum pepper types started to appear in the Western world in the early 1990s.
- Please note that Lemon Drop (Pepper) (USDA, PI 315024 (Peru)) is sometimes classified as C. chinense, and other times as C. baccatum. The best way to differentiate between chinense and baccatum species is by petals color - baccatums have greenish-yellow speckles on petals, and chinense peppers do not.
Also known as
Picture Gallery
Tatiana Kouchnareva (B.C KO T). Peru Yellow - transplanted. 2014-04-30.
Tatiana Kouchnareva (B.C KO T). Peru Yellow - transplanted. 2014-04-30.
Tatiana Kouchnareva (B.C KO T). Peru Yellow - ripe fruit. 2014-09-20.
Tatiana Kouchnareva (B.C KO T). Peru Yellow - ripe fruit. 2014-09-20.
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Seed Availability
| Year | Commercial Vendors | Seed Savers Yearbook (Member listings) | Seeds of Diversity (Member listings) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | . | . | |
| 2014 | Tatiana's TOMATObase Seeds - new |
. | . |
| 2013 | Pepper Gal |
3 (as Lemon Drop (Pepper)) | . |
| 2012 | 1+3 (as Aji Limo) + 3 (as Lemon Drop (Pepper)) | . | |
| 2011 | 3 (as Lemon Drop (Pepper)) | . | |
| 2010 | 1 (as Lemon Drop (Pepper)) | . | |
| 2009 | 3 (as Aji Limo) + 3 (as Lemon Drop (Pepper)) | . | |
| 2008 | 2 (as Lemon Drop (Pepper)) | . |
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