How2Day: Ghost Pepper Plants

Ghost peppers are one of the planet's hottest chili peppers. Jim Franco/Photodisc/Getty Images
Ghost peppers, commonly known as naga jolokia and bhut jolokia, are often classified as some of the world's hottest chili pepper plants. Ghost pepper plants originate in northeastern India's Assam region and Bangladesh, but also commonly appear in Sri Lanka. The plants are interspecific hybrids that cross Capsicum frutescens and Capsicum chinense plants.

Ghost pepper plants range in height from 17 inches to 4 feet. The peppers alone are between 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 inches, with widths of about 1 inch when ripe. The peppers are bright red and conical to subconical in shape. The skin of the peppers is particularly thin, with a dented and rough texture. The stems and foliage are green in color; the leaves are approximately 4 to 5 inches long.

In 2007, the Guinness Book of World Records named the ghost pepper plant as the hottest chili pepper plant on the planet. The thumb-sized peppers were named "ghost peppers" due to the fact that, upon consumption, they might easily end up as an apparition due to the immense heat of their flavor. The Guinness Book of World Records certified that ghost peppers are over 401 times hotter than the McIlhenny Company's popular hot Tabasco sauce, at more than one million Scoville units -- the system used to measure chili peppers and their piquance. Jalapeno peppers, by comparison, range from about 2,500 to 8,000 Scoville units.

Ghost peppers have been a common food staple in India for centuries. Apart from food purposes, ghost peppers have also been traditionally used in India to cure stomach discomfort, pain and to battle intense summer heat.

For proper germination, ghost pepper plants require moderately moist soil between 75 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit and full sun. The plants require regular watering; soil should never dry out entirely or become soggy. The germination process for ghost pepper plants can last as long as 35 days.

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