Most that I know of are, but if it said not to I wouldn't.

The risk I see is that ornamental plants of any kind, not just peppers, may have been treated with systemic insecticides. I've never seen this specifically noted on a plant label, but I play it on the safe side and do not eat ornamentals I have not grown myself.

Jim

if it was a plant that was purchased I would say don't eat, as mentioned pesticides n whatnot.

My neighbor grew some this year and they were some of the tastiest peppers! They tasted like hot cherries! NO LIE! I am gonna grow some next year. I could eat them like candy like Black Hungarians!

No chiles are poisonous.

They have likely sprayed with poison........

I e-mailed Janet Kister at Sunlet Nursery, asking "The tag says "Ornamental purposes only. Not Edible." They look delicious. Are the peppers or the seeds poisonous? May we eat any part of the peppers or use them in cooking?"

She responded: "We are a grower of ornamental plants, not food crops. That is why we noted as such on the label. Although the peppers are edible, we do not grow them for that purpose. However, since they are edible, we do not use any systemics nor any chemicals that could not be used on food crops. They are an annual plant and will only produce fruit this growing season. Taking the peppers off will not promote more peppers. Once all of the flowers have set, they will not produce more flowers that will set fruit. Be sure to keep them in a sunny location and well watered. They are a very fun plant - enjoy!"

Funny that she thinks peppers are annuals but nice to know they don't use systemics.

Yep, funny. I suppose the industry considers them annuals because they are most often used that way, like tomatoes (which are perennials). Her statement that they will not produce a second crop in another season is not true, however.

Jim

Well if she got the 'annual, no 2nd crop' part wrong how can you be sure she got the no systemics right? Do they isolate the plants at the nursery so they don't get treated along with all the the others?

This is great. I've always wondered the same thing.

http://www.gardenmusic.com/articles/fallfandango.html

"And the number one question regarding Ornamental Peppers is: Are they poisonous or edible? They are definitely not poisonous. All members of the Capsicum genus are edible if your palate can handle the heat, and some of these little ornamentals are firebombs! The reason they are considered "not for consumption" is they have been grown as an ornamental just like a Chrysanthemum or any other non-food crop. This means they have likely been treated with a systemic insecticide to produce the best looking, pest free decorative plant. For this reason, consider them inedible."

I have a personal experience. I was at a friend's house and she had a purple ornamental pepper. I picked one and popped it into my mouth. At first all was well, then the heat came... I almost died!! But just from the heat! Not from poison. It took about an hour for the heat to subside. I drove home eating yogurt the whole way. That seemed to help. Those little ornamentals are HOT!! If it was poisonous, I wouldn't be here to write about it.

I had a similar experience with a Black Pearl ornamental that I grew from seed. "How hot could it possibly be?" I thought as I barely touched a piece of pepper to the tip of my tongue. Nothing at first, but then my eyes began to water and my entire mouth and nose were burning. I swallowed a Benadryl but it was taking too long to kick in, so I applied a topical Benadryl lotion to my face and inside nostrils. Yeah, kinda gross but effective. It took several hours for the tingling sensation to subside. I probably drank a gallon of milk that day.

Listen to the nursery owner advice. There is a reason they are labeled "ornamental". ;) If they were meant to be eaten as food then they would just be called peppers.

Dave

I had the same question. Are these poisonous? Not because I plan to eat them. But because I have small children and the fruit are very tempting to them. I do not want to plant them this year if they are poisonous.

Sounds like they are not poisonous. It might be a good (harmlessly painfull) lesson to the kids if the do try to eat them.

Given that they were confirmed as peppers, you should not lose much sleep over them. Be aware that the Solanum pseudocapsicum (common name Jerusalem Cherry) is often sold as an ornamental pepper. This one is toxic.

My .02 ... Unless I knew for certain about pesticide use, etc. I would not eat anything labeled as 'ornamental'. I tend to be very cautious about these things, personally. However, I've read that many of these pepper plants are called ornamental because they are so hot, that they are *barely* edible. I'd suggest a site like ChilePlants.com if you want a pretty and edible chile plant....
Marc

Jerusalem cherry is also called Persimmons ornamental.

Actually it probably won't kill you , but you'll see colors and things that aren't there and you might get sick pretty if you eat it- in stronrger doses you could have some real nasty things going on,possibly death or wish you were dead.
Same beladona/nightshade type stuff in it.

Here is a link that might be useful: jerusalem cherry

It's an old post I know, but suddlenly I started experimenting with peppers, a vegetable not very friend of mine, unless they're hot. Capsicum (peppers of any kind) are not poisonous (nor the fruit, nor the seeds), but don't eat any other solanaceae member with green/red/black berries, specially the spherical ones, unless you are sure what species is. Solanaceas ARE somehow poisonous, allucinogenic or analgesic in some form or another due to the solanin and other alkaloids of bitter smell that is contained on the green parts of the plant. And no, it won't be degraded by cooking.

For the case simple potatoes exposed to light for a time, with skin turning greenish, will not kill you but could give you a good high state or dizziness. Eating leaves on that family should be avoided as well. Even the safe green pepper (the non hot version) may cause you drowsiness if eaten in quantity as sole food. A friend of mine who love common peppers ate almost two pounds one night and he was drowsy for about a day.

And regarding the nursery comment, I don't think is relevant, even If they had used the worst systemic pesticides, they will be flushed in 7-14 days. The things you buy at the grocery, unless organic, probably have more or less the same amount of pesticide and a whole spectrum of chemicals, hormones, lack of nutrients from poor soils, simple NPK fertilizers, fungicide and alike (and also probably be GMO).

FWIW, the ornamentals I've eaten weren't worth it. Either soapy tasting or just all seeds.

Dennis

Interesting comments, lord_of_the_green. Thanks.

I use peppers off my thai ornamental from time to time if I just want to add heat to it. Thanks don't taste that great but are very hot.
Randal

Systemics will flush out? Why not ask the beekeepers that question? It turns out that the systemics last for years and are in the ground and fruits and products of the bees. Be aware that these are hidden killers - just like GMO's.

Eat one and see what happens. If ya get a good buzz, let me know exactly what kind it is.

I would follow growers advise quite closely for the chemical reason alone. If the label says not edible, don't eat it. However I don't think anyone would be idiotic enough to produce/breed a poisonous chilli, that would be criminal. Someone, somewhere will eventually eat it, if not direct from the store bought plant, fruit from it's seedlings etc.

I bought a grafted lemon tree in full fruit and it was labelled as inedible for "ornamental purposes only". This irritated me as it grew extremely well when planted and produced fruit second to none. It produced flowers and fruit all year and good healthy foliage. For different reasons I then spent months tracking down it's wholesaler and then grower in Sicily, the wholesaler had already stopped stocking citrus. When I got to the bottom of it I was told it was a speciality lemon, specialite regionale (the Italian version) used for forcing and extremely edible, a highly prized variety grown on virus resistant stock. The middle men the wholesaler and exporter in a different country entirely said they had been treating the trees with systemic fungicides and pesticides when in full fruit at time of sale and thats why they were labelled as such. Of course they might not have been so enticing for the consumer had the label said "danger this plant has been treated with lethal toxic chemicals". And of course after a couple of years I had already tasted the fruit and decided they were stunningly delicious, both good for juice and zesting. I was more interested in the variety and graft stock used as it did so well. But had I been tempted to try the fruit straight away I might have become seriously sick.....so just shows. It can take awhile for systemic chemicals to be neutralised and in a short lived plant like a chilly pepper......not worth it. White fly apparently is a big problem in production of chilly pepper plants and is often difficult to eradicate without systemics, which are often used anyway to stop even a small possibility of an accidental infestation that could ruin an entire crop of plants. I live for the day ornamental pot plants and garden plants are labelled "organically produced", but when it says not for consumption believe it.

To the people saying peppers aren't annuals... They're called Capsicum Annum. They are considered annuals by definition. It is very difficult to overwinter pepper plants with low success rates, though it can be done.

Ornamental peppers themselves are edible. Hot and likely covered in chemicals, so you probably don't want to eat them. But it won't kill you.