Tran Red Chili

C. annuum, de Arbol pepper. A 2025 standout! Small, elongate fruits mature from vibrant green to fiery red. Peppers measure 2-3" long, 0.2-0.3" wide, and weigh 1-2.4 grams. Thin-walled, seedy fruits with a pleasant heat that begins at the base of the throat and leaves a tingle across the tongue. Densely branched plants averaged 5.5-6' tall when trellised at Heritage Farm in 2025. Green stems and purple nodes. White flowers. High vigor, uniformity, and productivity. Robert Tuan Tran, a Vietnamese refugee of Fairfax Station, VA, obtained this pepper variety in the early 2000s at Eden Center, a Vietnamese-American strip mall in Falls Church, VA. Growing up in Vietnam, Robert’s family relied on selling prepared food and ingredients at a market booth. Robert enjoyed growing hot peppers, which his mother would use in her cooking and sell at the booth. Although the pepper variety may not be exactly the same as the one he cultivated in his childhood in Vietnam, it holds significant sentimental value. It serves as a connection to his past and the memories of his childhood and ancestors. Robert’s son, Thomas, donated this variety to SSE in 2023.