Capsicum                                             

Any of various tropical American pepper plants of the genus Capsicum, especially any of the numerous cultivated forms of the species C. annuum and C. frutescens.  The fruit of any of these plants, especially the dried pungent types used as a condiment and in medicine.

  Scoville rating    Type of pepper     15,000,000-16,000,000      Pure capsaicin

     8,600,000-9,100,000        Various capsaicinoids (e.g. homocapsaicin, homodihydrocapsaicin, nordihydrocapsaicin)

     2,000,000-5,300,000        Standard U.S. Grade pepper spray], FN 303 irritant ammunition

     855,000-1,050,000           Naga Jolokia

     350,000-580,000              Red Savina Habanero

     100,000-350,000              Habanero chili, Scotch Bonnet Pepper, Datil pepper, Rocoto, Jamaican Hot Pepper, African Birdseye

     50,000-100,000                Thai Pepper, Malagueta Pepper, Chiltepin Pepper, Pequin Pepper

     30,000-50,000                  Cayenne Pepper, Ají pepper, Tabasco pepper, some Chipotle peppers

     10,000-23,000                  Serrano Pepper, some Chipotle peppers

     2,500-8,000                     Jalapeño Pepper, Guajillo pepper, New Mexican varieties of Anaheim pepper, Paprika (hungarian wax pepper)

     500-2,500                        Anaheim pepper , Poblano Pepper, Rocotillo Pepper

     100-500                           Pimento, Pepperoncini

     0 No heat,                      Bell pepper  

World’s Hottest Peppers

1. Naga Viper
2. Red Bhut Jolokia (commonly called a “Ghost Pepper”)
3. Chocolate Bhut Jolokia
4. Yellow Bhut Jolokia (also call “Lemon Bhut Jolokia”)
5. Bih Jolokia
6. 7 Pod Varieties (Barrakpore, SR, Primo, Jonah, Brain Strain, Yellow)
7. Douglah (aka. 7 pod Douglah)
8. Trinidad Scorpion Morouga Blend
9. Trinidad Scorpion Butch T
10. Naga Morich
11. Dorset Naga

There are a few more that have surfaced recently – the Infinity and the New Mexico Scorpion.

The Scoville Scale converts the amount of capsaicin in parts per million into Scoville heat units. So the greater the number of Scoville Scale, the hotter the pepper.