Cayenne Pepper
Capsicum annuum
—
Not native
Not native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 65%
- Height
- 1 foot–3 feet 8 inches
- Spread
- 6 inches–1 foot
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual
- Leaves
- Deciduous
Not yet recorded · Bloom
Recorded in 2 Alabama counties.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
21CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
Genus host records with ranges including AL · Capsicum
- Agrotis ipsilonIpsilon Dart, Black Cutworm, Greasy Cutworm
- Agrotis malefidaRascal Dart, Pale-Sided Cut-Worm, Shagreened Cut-Worm
- Anatrachyntis rileyiPink Scavanger Caterpillar
- Anomis erosaYellow Scallop Moth, Mallow Caterpillar
- Antheraea polyphemusPolyphemus Moth
- Elasmopalpus lignosellaLesser Cornstalk Borer
- Feltia subterraneaSubterranean Dart, Granulate Cutworm
- Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
- Herpetogramma bipunctalisSouthern Beet Webworm, Two-Spotted Herpetogramma
- Lineodes integraEggplant Leafroller
Show all 21
- Lorita scarificataChrysanthemum Flower Borer
- Manduca quinquemaculatusFive-Spotted Hawkmoth, Tomato Hornworm
- Manduca sextaCarolina Sphinx, Tomatoe Sphinx, Tobacco Hornworm
- Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Platynota rostranaOmnivorous Platynota
- Platynota stultanaOmnivorous Leafroller
- Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera latifasciaOrange-Striped Armyworm, Velvet Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Capsicum
- Ortalis vetulaPlain Chachalaca
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Solanaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 4a–11b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to alkaline
- Flower color
- Purple or white
What its natural habitat tells you
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Flower color · “Purple or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- Hardiness · “Zones 4a–11b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “1 foot–3 feet 8 inches” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Annual” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- Soil · “Moist” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Soil pH · “Acidic to alkaline” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “6 inches–1 foot” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| AL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Native alternatives
Find natives for your gardenSources
- Alabama Plant Atlas
- USDA PLANTS
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications