Pepper

Capsicum annuum is the species behind almost every cultivated pepper — bell, jalapeño, cayenne, paprika and most ornamentals — native to tropical North and South America and reaching one to nearly four feet. Deep green ovate leaves clothe branching stems, small white star-shaped flowers open through summer, and the fruit varies enormously by cultivar. Birds are immune to capsaicin and eat the fruit freely, which is exactly how the plant spreads its seed — mammals are deterred, birds are not. Heat level is genuinely unpredictable in home conditions: the same cultivar runs hotter under drought and heat stress than in a well-watered season.