NuMex Bailey Piquin
Capsicum: Annuum
Origin: USA
PI: 640726
Flower: erect, stellate
Petals: white
Spots: no
Calyx: toothless
Pods: Green > red,1/2" X 1"
Seed: yellow-brown
Leaves: medium, glabrous
Plant height: 18-24"
Maturity: 120 Days
Habit: sturdy, tree-like bush
Scoville units: 97,000
Germ. Time: 1 wk > 2 mo.

This cultivar was released by the New Mexico State University's (NMSU) Chile Pepper Breeding Program in 1991 and named in honor of Mr. Alton L.Bailey, NMSU's extension vegetable specialist who helped evaluate this selection. NuMex Bailey Piquin is unique because the fruit falls from the stem at maturity, making harvesting easier.
The wild chile pepper Pequin grows primarily in Guatemala, Mexico, and the southwestern United States. It is sometimes called the "mother of all peppers" because it is thought to be the oldest of the Capsicum annuum species. Historically, no kitchen table of Sonorans, Opatas, O’odham or Yaqui rural homes would be without a bottle of dried chiltepins. The wild harvest is a seasonal ritual in many rural communities to this day, where families make chile-harvesting camps in the mountains during the heat of September and early October in order to harvest the wild peppers.

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