[lazza]

I was at a local garden centre a couple of weeks ago, and lots of plants were reduced, so managed to find two rather splendid plants that had produced loads of small chillis, so I thought they were worth getting (reduced to £1 from £3.49). After all, that many chillis in the shops would cost far more, and these were rather attractive orange and yellow chillis....

Or so I thought....

Having kept them in the cold frame since I bought them, I decided it was time to bring them in last night as it was getting very cold. So I plonked them on the kitchen windwosill last night.

Then, this morning, as I made my cup of tea, I read the labels properly... and these are not chillis at all, but ornamental peppers.... harmful if eaten!! It's a good job I didn't just strip the fruit off when I got them home as the chillis would have gone straight in the freezer and the pots (and labels) in the bin, which could have caused a few bellyaches!

[gavinjconway]

Oooooooooooooops!!

[lazza]

I have to add.... who would have ornamental peppers anyway?!

[JayG]

I have to add.... who would have ornamental peppers anyway?!

Not many (especially if they didn't read the label either!)   

[mumofstig]

Was it this one - Solanum pseudocapsicum?  It's commonly sold as a wintersolstice house plant in garden centres and the DIY sheds

[New shoot]

People do buy ornamental peppers as bedding plants and they are just peppers like the edible ones  

I must admit I have eaten a couple at work and they were pretty tasteless, but didn't do me any harm.  They didn't have warnings on them mind you - can't see they would be poisonous, but perhaps may have been sprayed with nasties  

Solanum is poisonous so don't be nibbling that  

[lazza]

They are called capsicum tutti frutti and, the irony of it, capsicum joker!