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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Genetic Improvement for Fruits & Vegetables Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #418894
Research Project: Solanaceous Crop Improvement and Disease Management

Location: Genetic Improvement for Fruits & Vegetables Laboratory

Title: Capsicum annuum L. ‘purple rain’ – a new ornamental pepper

Author
item Stommel, John
item Griesbach, Robert
item Pooler, Margaret

Submitted to: HortScience
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/25/2024
Publication Date: 1/20/2025
Citation: Stommel, J.R., Griesbach, R.J., Pooler, M.R. 2025. Capsicum annuum L. ‘purple rain’ – a new ornamental pepper. HortScience. 60(2):230–232. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI18219-24.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI18219-24

Interpretive Summary: The Agricultural Research Service has a long history of breeding improved Solanaceous crops, including tomatoes and peppers for culinary processing and fresh market. Novel collaboration between USDA, ARS vegetable breeders and floriculture geneticists led to the first ARS ornamental pepper releases in 1993, followed by the first commercially successful black foliage ornamental peppers. This manuscript describes the development and release of a new ARS ornamental pepper, ‘Purple Rain’ - a true-breeding small-statured ornamental pepper with unique purple/black variegated foliage with green and white highlights. ‘Purple Rain’ can be used wherever sunny annuals are planted — patio plantings, in the foreground of a sunny mixed border, or massed in commercial, park, or public garden settings. ‘Purple Rain’ is especially well-suited as an accent or filler in container, hanging basket, or window box plantings, and it holds its fruit and foliage through the fall until the first frost. Mature fruit can also be harvested on the stems for use in dried arrangements. Ornamental peppers have the highest per unit value of any pepper product. These new cultivars give growers a new opportunity to add to their bedding and pot plant assortment.

Technical Abstract: The USDA, ARS announces the release of the ornamental pepper (Capsicum annuum) cultivar Purple Rain. This cultivar is intended for ornamental applications. Purple Rain was selected for its distinctive purple/black variegated foliage with green and white highlights combined with a compact semi-prostrate growth habit. Plants average 40 to 53 cm in diameter and 20 to 22 cm in height. Immature fruit of Purple Rain are black and mature to red. Fruit are oriented upright, solitary and conical in shape. Fruit mature in approximately 75 days. Fruit contain two to three locules and average 2.2 to 2.6 cm in height and 1.2 cm in diameter at the base. Fruit are pungent. Purple Rain may be grown as bedding or pot plants. Contrasting variegated foliage pigmentation and brightly colored upright immature and mature fruit provides a vibrant ornamental display for the summer and fall garden. Purple Rain is a true breeding F14 generation selection. The pedigree is complex and originated from initial crosses between the USDA germplasm release 90C44 and the heirloom cultivars Christmas Cheer and Royal Black. Conical fruit shape and violet pigmented immature fruit color are derived from 90C44 and Royal Black. Variegated foliage is derived from Royal Black. Growth habit of Purple Rain is intermediate to that of the upright habit of 90C44 and extremely prostrate habit of Christmas Cheer. Earliness of Purple Rain is comparable to Christmas Cheer.