Monkey Nipples

Monkey Nipples, also widely circulated under the Italian name Capezzoli di Scimmia, is a compact Capsicum chinense grown for its very small, nearly round, nipple-shaped fruit and its strong fruity heat. Current exact-name and translated-name seed listings describe it as a highly productive plant suited to pots, kitchen growing, and bonsai-style culture, with many small orange pods packed densely across the plant. The fruit is typically about 15 mm across, sometimes described in a range of roughly 12 to 16 mm long and 13 to 17 mm wide, and the plants are generally described as compact to bushy, usually about 40 to 90 cm tall depending on source and growing conditions. The pods are consistently described as hot, tasty, and fruity, and are used fresh, dried, or in general cooking rather than as a mild ornamental only.

The name is a direct reference to the fruit shape, with Capezzoli di Scimmia translating to Monkey Nipple. In public catalogues and grower references, the pepper was already circulating under that name by 2016, and by 2018 to 2019 it appeared in plant sale catalogues as a recognised hot pepper with small round peach to orange fruit and heat placed around 100,000 to 150,000 SHU. Its present identity in seed trade is that of a small-fruited, high-yielding chinense valued for novelty of form, compact habit, and strong flavour. A major factual conflict exists over origin: some current sources place it in Italy, while others describe it as originating in Bolivia or South America and later being cultivated in Italy.