Capsicum annuum ‘Black Pearl’
Pepper
Cayenne peppers are natives of southern North America and northern South America. Most of the peppers we eat or grow as ornamentals are cultivated from this species, including anchos, banana peppers, cayennes, de árbols, guajillos, jalapeños, anaheims, Italian sweets, pasillas, peperoncinis, pimentos, poblanos, serranos, and tabascos. (A few, habaneros among them, have other origins.) The ‘Black Pearl’ cultivar was developed by the U.S. National Arboretum, as an ornamental plant.
Plants: Plants are up to 1′ (30 cm) high (smaller than many), densely branched. They are annuals in cooler climates and woody perennials in warmer ones.
Leaves: Oblong-ovate, ovate, or ovate-lanceolate, about 1–2″ (2.5–5 cm) long, and black, or at the very least, dark purple.
Flowers: Purple (most cultivars have white flowers), about 1″ (2.5 cm) in size, appearing from May to October.
Fruits: Shiny, oval in shape, ½–¾″ (1.3–1.9 cm) around, and black (or red) (most cultivars are green, yellow, orange, or red).
Online References:
CalPhotos at the University of California, Berkeley (Capsicum annuum)
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (Capsicum annuum)
Wikipedia (Capsicum annuum)
Flora of North America (Capsicum annuum)
References:
8/29/2010 · Joy and Jim’s, Mansfield, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (17 × 11 cm) 
8/29/2010 · Joy and Jim’s, Mansfield, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (17 × 11 cm) 
9/7/2010 · New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill, Boylston, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (22 × 15 cm) 
8/29/2010 · Joy and Jim’s, Mansfield, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (22 × 14 cm) 
8/29/2010 · Joy and Jim’s, Mansfield, Massachusetts · ≈ 14 × 9″ (35 × 23 cm) 
9/7/2010 · New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill, Boylston, Massachusetts · ≈ 10 × 7″ (25 × 18 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Asteridae | A large class that encompasses asters |
| Order | Solanales | Potatoes, eggplants, tomatoes, peppers, tobacco, petunias, sweet potatoes, morning glories, many others |
| Family | Solanaceae | Nightshade or potato family |
| Genus | Capsicum | From Greek κάπτω, kapto, “to bite” |
| Species | annuum | “Annual” (though these are often perennials) |
Capsicum annuum ‘Black Pearl’ description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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