To answer OP's question, For the average, hobbyist, grower, does it really matter?, my opinion is no. Knowing the full family tree of the pepper you're growing, Kingdom: Plantae Phylum (Division): Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Solanales Family: Solanaceae Genus: Capsicum Species: annuum var. glabriusculum a waste of time along with knowing every Species. But knowing traits of the Species to help identify it, how many times does this forum get ID requests, a helpful tool, How Do I Identify The Species Of My Chile Plant?. I've been looking for a ID chart on leaf variance but can't find one, we all know the difference between Chinense & Annuum, don't we? NECM

I've been eating food cooked with tepins as seasonings for over 50 years. I decided to grow some a few years back by planting seed from dried tepins. The success rate was about 1 in 20 to get a plant that actually grew to something that would bare fruit. The plants died after two years. Last year I repeated the procedure and only got two plants that produced. The funny thing is they aren't producing berries, they look like small (very smal) jalapenos. They are now producing for the second time and the chilies are over an inch long and extremely hot. The only seeds I planted were from the tepins.....strange.

Growing an Aloe Vera (or most other Aloe species - there are more than 300 of them!) is not a difficult matter, if a few basic rules are followed: If grown in a pot, allow the root ball plenty of room to grow; aloes are voracious growers, and having space to do so is necessary. When you repot, allow a growing area three to five times the size of the root ball. Use a well-draining soil. The number of soils A. vera will grow in is quite large, but a basic cactus mix available at home improvement centers is quite suitable. You may wish to experiment with other soils, but one thing it needs is to be well draining, so even a home-made concoction of 1/3 sand, 1/3 soil, and 1/3 pumice/gravel is better than straight potting soil. Aloes don't like to be cold and they don't like wet feet. Pot up your aloe in soil up to the root ball. Use top dressing (gravel/pebbles) on top of the soil to give it a finished look, hold down the dirt, and reduce evaporation. Do not water a newly repotted aloe for a few days. This gives it a chance to get used to its new home, as well as allowing time for any roots that have broken to seal themselves. After a few days, a light watering, perhaps with some B-1 in the water, is recommended. Most aloes grow vegetatively from April to October so water regularly with that in mind. The rest of the year, watering twice a month is sufficient. Water when the soil is dry - rainwater is the best - so that may mean twice a month, or once a week, or some combination thereof. Aloes are very forgiving and they can go a long time without water, but they grow best with it. If in doubt about watering, don't water. Don't forget - they shouldn't be cold and wet. Some aloes will withstand a freeze, but many will turn to mush. No one wants a mushy aloe! Fertilize from April through Septrember, twice a month, with a low-nitrogen fertilizer, heavily diluted. You can try Miracle-Gro 15-30-15, diluted to about 1 to 5. Many aloes produce 'pups'. When the pup is fully formed, detach it from the mother plant, let it callus over for a few days in a cool, dry area, and pot it up. If it has roots, pot as you would a regular aloe, allowing for the fact that it is smaller and should be in a suitably sized pot for its size. If it has no roots, let it callus over, place the cut/broken end ON the soil, and support it with top dressing. DO NOT WATER IT-it has no roots, so watering the soil will likely cause rot. Instead, mist it every few days. Roots should start forming within a month. When growth is evident, it can be watered. Aloe vera flowers are yellow, but others flower in hues of pink/red/orange/white/gray. They start as a spike that gradually gets larger and finally opens, lasting a long time. Aloe flowers are beacons for hummingbirds, so be prepared to be buzzed by these lovely creatures if you are amongst your aloes when they are flowering. For more information, seek out fellow succulent plant people, join your local/national society, and take advantage of the advice and experience they are able to offer. Stop by our Cacti and Succulents forum for tips and friendly conversation. Lastly, these are not ironclad rules. What works for others may not work for you. Experiment a little if you think that's what is needed as your growing conditions are likely different. Aloes are very adaptable creatures, within limits, of course.

Scale and mealybugs are related insects, and since their life cycles closely parallel each other, they will be considered as one in this FAQ. Both are in the order Homoptera (one set of wings). Size is from 1/12 inch to 1/5 inch (2 to 5 mm). Although more than 160 species of scale and over 30 species of mealybug are recognized, only a few are serious pests of cacti and succulents. Some species are host specific, that is, one kind of scale/mealy will feed on only one family of plant. An example is the Golden Mealybug, Pseudococcus aurilanatus, found in California, which feeds on the Araucaria family (Norfolk Is. Pines, etc.) and few other plants. Others, like the Grape Mealy, feed on hosts as varied as potatoes, date palms, apples, Agaves, ivy, English walnut, orange trees and of course grapes, among a long list of likely hosts. One major difference between scale and mealybugs is that mealybugs remain motile, while scale females usually lose their legs as they shed, becoming immobile when maturity is reached. Males of both kinds of insects mature to small, winged midges that fly but, having no mouthparts, cannot eat. Each female lays between 300 and 600 eggs that can take up to 10 days to hatch (a few species are live bearers, the eggs are incubated within the female and the young are born live). The young move about, inserting their mouthparts into plant tissue and excreting "honeydew". This honeydew forms the major part of the diet of other insects, some of whom actively transport the scale to uninfested areas. (Paradoxically, honeydew forms a large part of the diet of adult lacewing insects, whose juvenile form is a major predator of scale.) Besides honeydew, scale insects provide shellac, cochineal red dye, and jewelry in the form of beads (from Ground scale, the family Margarodidae esp. M. meridionalis, and M. rileyi). Outbreaks of scale can be triggered by plants being under stress (overwatering/underwatering), too much new growth resulting from an overabundance of nutrients (overfertilizing), overcrowding (unavoidable in some collections) and other conditions specific to the infestation. These other conditions can include injudicious spraying that kills the predators but leaves the scale eggs alive, introduction of a new, more favorable host plant, etc. Major predators of scale include lacewings, ladybugs, parasitic wasps, and animals such as woodpeckers and chickadees. Many remedies are available for control. Organic controls include alcohol spray (isopropyl alcohol, straight or diluted), soapy emulsion (can be mixed w/alcohol), horticultural oil (read the directions, taking the plant out of the sun is a must) and pyrethrum spray. Soapy water/alcohol should be reapplied every 2-3 days for 2 weeks. This is because little residual action can be expected, and newly hatched insects are occuring. Chemical sprays with proven results include Sevin and malathion. WARNING. DO NOT use sprays containing malathion on the Crassulaceae family of plants. These plants include the common Jade plants, as well as Aeoniums, Adromischus, Echeverias, Sedums, Kalanchoes and other genera. Some species in these genera are very sensitive to malathion, and damage or death may result. Cacti, however, exhibit tolerance to malathion. For root mealy control (generally Rhizoecus falcifer or R. cacticans), soil drenches are commonly available. Alcohol in large quantities in the root zone is generally to be avoided since it can dehydrate some tissues. Soapy water/alcohol mix should not be allowed to dry in the root zone since damage can occur. If it is used, after a short period it can be flushed by pouring clean water through the root zone.