Pepper inside a pepper???

[TomatoNut95]

Ok, this is just weird....I cut the top off a big, two lobed Yellow Bell pepper and found what looked like a small, scrunched up green pepper growing inside! Anybody see anything like it before???

[pepperhead212]

This happens frequently; I see it mostly in larger peppers, but then, smaller peppers are often not cut into, so maybe it happens more than we know. I just found something like that in one of my chocolate habs the other day, when cutting it up.

[TomatoNut95]

Interesting! Thanks, @Pepperhead! For a minute there I thought I found a really wacky pepper! I have some more really large bell peppers; so I might find another...'pepper pup'.

[SQWIB]

I see that a lot in my Bells

[TomatoNut95]

Great! Good to know; thanks guys! So...the piece is actually ANOTHER pepper growing inside the big pepper like an offshoot or 'pup' or it's just a lump? I wonder if the lump might have grown if I had left the pepper on the plant?

[imafan26]

I've seen it as well. I think it is like a parasitic twin. Sometimes a larger twin swallows up the smaller one early in development.

[TomatoNut95]

Parasitic twin?? This is all fascinating! I never knew of such thing with peppers! I guess that is because I've never seen it mentioned in any gardening books I've read.

[imafan26]

Parasitic twins happen in animals, but plant twins also exist. The genetic behavior in terms of cell division is the same for all life forms so a plant version of a "parasitic twin" is also possible. It probably happens more often since plants produce way more seeds and have more opportunities for the events to line up just right.

[TomatoNut95]

So basically it doesn't matter if the pepper is a hybrid or heirloom...this parasitic twin can just occur in any type of pepper that grew to a large size, right? Most interesting. I need to write this info down and add it to my plant notes. I'm surprised I've never seen this 'parasitic twin' possibility mentioned in any of my gardening books...will this parasitic twin occur in other veggies as well?

[imafan26]

I see it mostly on fruits with multiple internal seeds. It is not common to find this on fruit with external seeds, but you might find fused fruits with multiple lobes instead.

[TomatoNut95]

Interesting! Thanks for teaching me something new, guys!