Chilhuacle Negro

Chilhuacle Negro is a traditional Capsicum annuum landrace from Oaxaca, Mexico, grown mainly in the La Cañada region, including communities in and around the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán area. Cultivation is typically small-scale and local, and the pepper is often described as difficult to obtain outside its home region.

Plants are commonly described as compact, around 45–60 centimetres tall. Pods are pendant and squat to bell-like, usually about 7.5–10 centimetres long and 6.5–9 centimetres wide. Fruits mature from green to brown, and the pods are commonly dried for storage and cooking.

Chilhuacle Negro is closely associated with Oaxacan mole negro, where it is commonly dried and ground or rehydrated for sauces. It is generally treated as a mild chilli, but published heat figures vary across sources, so a conservative single-value estimate is used here.

Some claims found online, such as very ancient cultivation timelines, “endangered” status, or specific Nahuatl etymology, are often presented without strong supporting evidence and should be treated as unconfirmed unless backed by academic or linguistic sources.