One of the varieties of peppers that I’ve photographed this fall are the Chinese Five Color Peppers – also known as Chinese Multi-Color Peppers. They are a variety of capiscum annuum. Originally from China, these peppers are edible – and very hot! As the peppers ripen, they change color from purple to cream to yellow to orange to red.

The first Chinese Five Color Pepper plant I photographed was at Longwood Gardens. Here’s a group of fully ripe red peppers.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

And a plant with all five colors of peppers

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

A few weeks later, I photographed another set of Chinese Five Color Peppers at the National Arboretum in Washington DC. The ones at the Arboretum are part of the Pepper Collection.

A cluster of purple peppers, with a few that have already changed color

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

This group has several that are in the processes of changing colors as they ripen.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

And finally, a  group of peppers of all colors growing on one of the larger pepper plants.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins