Tabasco pepper 4746723 224674658 2008-07-09T22:32:25Z Lightbot 7178666 Units/dates/other {{Taxobox | name = Tabasco | image = Tabasco peppers.JPG | image_width = 250px | image_caption = Tabasco Peppers (ripe and unripe) | regnum = [[Plant]]ae | divisio = [[Magnoliophyta]] | classis = [[Magnoliopsida]] | subclassis = [[Asteridae]] | ordo = [[Solanales]] | familia = [[Solanaceae]] | genus = ''[[Capsicum]]'' | species = ''[[Capsicum frutescens|C. frutescens]]'' | subspecies = '''''C. f. var. tabasco''''' | trinomial = ''Capsicum frutescens var. 'tabasco''' | trinomial_authority = <!-- unknown? --> }} {{Pepper | image=chilli35.jpg | boxwidth=250px | heat=Hot ([[Scoville scale|SR]]: 30,000-50,000) }} The '''tabasco pepper''' is a variety of [[chile pepper]] species ''[[Capsicum frutescens]]''. It is best known through its use in [[Tabasco sauce]], followed by ''peppered vinegar''. Like all frutescens chilis, the tabasco plant has a typical bushy growth, which commercial cultivation makes stronger by trimming the plants. The tapered fruits, around 4 cm long, are initially pale yellowish-green and turn yellow and orange before ripening to bright red. Tabascos rate from 30,000 to 50,000 on the [[Scoville scale]] of heat levels. A large part of the tabasco pepper stock fell victim to the [[tobacco mosaic virus]] in the 1960s, and the first resistant variety (''Greenleaf tabasco'') was not able to be cultured until around 1970. ==Naming== Even though the word "[[tabasco]]" is the name of a [[Mexican state]], this variety of pepper was first grown in large quantities in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Louisiana]]. The initial letter of "tabasco" is rendered in lowercase when referring to the botanical variety, but is capitalized ("Tabasco") when used as a [[Brand|brand name]] to refer to the pepper's namesake sauce product ==References== *The information in this article is based on a translation of its German equivalent. [[Category:Chili peppers]] [[Category:Louisiana cuisine]] [[de:Tabasco (Pflanze)]] [[es:Capsicum frutescens var. tabasco]] [[hu:Tabasco paprika]] [[ro:Tabasco (plantă)]] [[to:Polo]] [[tr:Tabasco (bitki)]]