Pimenta da Dog

Pimenta da Dog is a modern Capsicum chinense hybrid created by crossing Trinidad Dog with Pimenta da Neyde. It is grown mainly for its extreme contrast between very dark foliage and brightly ripening superhot fruit, and is commonly described in the seed trade as a dark ornamental-superhot type with strong yields.

Seller descriptions repeatedly note that the plants have very dark purple to near-black foliage and dark stems, while the pods begin jet black when immature and ripen to glowing orange with retained purple or black mottling. This dark-to-bright colour shift is one of the main reasons the variety is grown.

Fruit size varies depending on source and phenotype. Some listings describe pods around 3 cm long, while others describe fruit up to about 7 cm long. Plant height is most often described around 1.0 m, with some listings extending to roughly 100–130 cm.

Heat reporting is inconsistent. Several sellers place it in the 800,000–1,000,000+ SHU range, which fits its repeated marketing as a superhot. At least one listing for the same name gives a much lower 150,000–250,000 SHU range, which does not match the broader superhot clustering and may reflect different stock, seller understatement, or strong phenotype variation. The single-number value of 1,000,000 SHU is used here because it matches the most common seller positioning for this line.

Origin is also somewhat inconsistent in online listings. Multiple references connect the cross to Joker Chilli / Joker Chilli Farm, with one seller explicitly stating it was created in the Czech Republic, while another claims Croatia. The Czech Republic attribution is used here because it is the clearest specific origin statement tied to the named cross.