Fact Check: Bell Peppers Are Same Species No Matter What Color?

Claim:

Bell pepper colors vary depending on their ripeness, yet all are the same species.

Rating:

Mixture ( About this rating? )

What's True:

The bell pepper market class under which the peppers are sold in the U.S. only includes a species known as Capsicum annuum. The coloring of some C. annuum varieties may be influenced by their maturity or ripeness. However …

What's False:

A bell pepper's color, shape, size and taste also are influenced by genetic factors obtained through cross-breeding. Some bell pepper varieties are specifically bred for their coloring, which can range from green to red and white to black.

Bell peppers come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors. Yet despite this aesthetic variety, some social media users claim all bell peppers — whether they're green, orange, yellow or red — belong to one species.

Snopes determined that this claim first became popular in 2018 when lifestyle blog Call Me Amy said on X that a bell pepper's color depended on its maturity, but all are "the same pepper just less ripe."

One social media user then circulated the claim in an X post on July 5, 2024, that said: "Don't tell me I'm alone in this." The post had received more than 2.5 million views at the time of this writing

Although the posts above did not explicitly say all bell peppers are the same species, this sentiment is implied by the users claiming all bell peppers are "the same."

Snopes spoke with James Meyers , an endowed professor in the department of agriculture at Oregon State University's College of Agricultural Sciences.

Meyers said the bell pepper market class under which they are sold in the U.S. only includes a species known as Capsicum annuum . The coloring of some C. anuum varieties may be influenced by their maturity or ripeness. However, a bell pepper's color, shape, size and taste also are influenced by genetic factors obtained through cross-breeding. Some bell pepper varieties are specifically bred for their coloring, which can range from green to red and white to black.

For these reasons, we have rated this claim as a "Mixture" of true and false.

The bell pepper market class is "generally described as large blocky fruit with three or four lobes, thick walls, and low capsaicin content," Meyers told Snopes, adding that there are exceptions.

"Some early bell pepper cultivars have medium-sized fruit and fewer lobes, giving them a more heart-shaped profile. There are also the baby bells, which are bred for small fruit size, but have the same general shape as the big bells. There are also high-pungency bell pepper cultivars," he said. "All these traits are under separate genetic control and can be mixed and matched to produce cultivars with different characteristics."

North Carolina State Extension , a "resource for connecting research and education to the communities, economies and families" in North Carolina, noted that this group of bell peppers is a member of the Solanaceae , or nightshade family. Each pepper has a slightly different taste, as well:

• Green Sweet Peppers are not as sweet as other peppers, because they have been removed from the vine before the natural sugars are produced. They have a bitter and tangy taste.
• Orange Sweet Peppers have a tangy, fruit taste. They are great for adding color to a salad. They have a high juice content and are firm, crisp, and crunchy.
• Red Sweet Peppers are the sweetest and have a nice flavor when grilled. They are firm, crisp, and crunchy.
• Yellow Sweet Peppers have a sweet taste and high nutritional content. The thick, fleshy skin will hold the chargrilled flavor.

Mississippi State University Extension , an organization similar to NCSE, confirmed the information above, adding that "green bell peppers appear first and are the least ripe. As they mature, they usually turn to another color. This may be yellow, orange, red, or purple."

According to Meyers, fruit colors can be separated into immature and mature categories. Immature colors can range from white to dark green, the latter of which is produced by a gene called chlorophyll retainer .

Then there are some bell pepper varieties that mature into shades of white or black .

"Cultivars with white or ivory mature fruit color generally lack carotenoids. There are also genes that control the patterning of fruit colors such as the orange and red striping seen in Patchwork pepper (not a bell)," said Meyers, adding that "in addition to the carotenoids producing the yellow, orange or red mature fruit color, purple or black colors may be produced by anthocyanins."

Researchers in 2017 published a description of the variety, cultivation, and uses of bell peppers, writing that:

Capsicum is native to the tropical and subtropical Americas, and the majority of the genetic diversity is concentrated in Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, and Mexico. This genus comprises over 30 species, and C. annuum is the most widely cultivated and economically important one.

As such, there are a wide variety of pepper cultivars, short for cultivated variety, or intentionally bred species meant to inherit certain traits.

Modern humans, for example, all belong to the same species Homo sapiens. Yet our ancestry — or breeding — in part, dictates our genetic material. Just like bell peppers, these factors influence our size, shape and color. In turn, all of these characteristics may be influenced by our own "ripeness."

Sources:

ACIR Community . https://acir.aphis.usda.gov/s/cird-taxon/a0ut0000001JclwAAC/capsicum-annuum-l-var-annuum2 . Accessed 11 July 2024.

"Black Bell Pepper Seeds." Tyler Farms , https://www.tyler-farms.com/black-bell-pepper-seeds/ . Accessed 11 July 2024.

Capsicum Annuum (Grossum Group) (Bell Pepper, Green Pepper, Red Pepper, Sweet Pepper) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox . https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/capsicum-annuum-grossum-group/ . Accessed 11 July 2024.

Collins-Smith, Susan M., "What is the Difference Between Green, Red, and Yellow Bell Peppers?" Mississippi State University Extension . https://extension.msstate.edu/blog/what-the-difference-between-green-red-and-yellow-bell-peppers . Accessed 16 July 2024.

García-Gaytán, Víctor, et al. "The Chilhuacle Chili ( Capsicum Annuum L.) in Mexico: Description of the Variety, Its Cultivation, and Uses." International Journal of Agronomy , vol. 2017, 2017, pp. 1–13. DOI.org (Crossref) , https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/5641680 .

How Extension Works . https://www.ces.ncsu.edu/how-extension-works/ . Accessed 16 July 2024.

Phylogenetic Trees and Monophyletic Groups | Learn Science at Scitable . http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/reading-a-phylogenetic-tree-the-meaning-of-41956 . Accessed 11 July 2024.

White Bell, Pepper Seeds | Bell Peppers . https://www.ufseeds.com/product/white-bell-pepper-seeds/PEWB.html . Accessed 11 July 2024.