Datil

Species Name: Capsicum chinense Jacquin. Color: Yellow green to golden yellow. Shape: Elongated, shallow wrinkles, pointed. Description: The wrinkled, golden little peppers look somewhat like fresh dates before the dates are harvested. Highly aromatic and pungent. Scoville Heat Units: 100,000 – 250,000 Other Names: Mindoran. Related Cultivars: None that I know of. Most Commonly Grown In: St. Augustine, Florida. It is believed the datil was brought to the USA from the West Indies during the Colonial period (1565-1821) even though the traditional belief is that Minorcans fleeing Spain brought it with them. (This is impossible as there were no Capsicum chinense growing in the Mediterranean at that time.) However, the Minorcans gave it its name, "datil" meaning "date" in Catalan Spanish, after the date fruit which is native to Spain. Since introducing it to St. Augustine, Florida, the pepper has been mostly cultivated in that area.