This morning I am making a large batch of Enchilada sauce with 8" long Red Anaheim peppers. From all the red color peppers I have cut open there was only 1 female 3 lob pepper, all the other 2 lob peppers were males.
I hope I don't have that backwards. 3 lobs are females?
Does it make any difference if I save male seeds or female seeds to plant next summer?
This urban legend has been around for several years. Sorry to break it to you but there is no such thing as male or female peppers. Peppers have three to six lobes depending on the pepper variety and the growing conditions. Pepper seeds are pepper seeds. Whenever the male/female pepper discussion arises, every scientific site gives this response:
Bell peppers are a type of vegetable that can be either male or female. In plants, there are two types of cells—the stamen and the pistil. The stamen is the male organ, and the pistil is the female organ. In bell peppers, there are three sets of these cells: the fused stem (the central part of the pepper), the ribs (which run along the stem), and the fruit (the peppers themselves).
So, what’s the difference between male and female bell peppers? There is no such thing as male and female bell peppers. Bell peppers don’t have any organs for reproduction, so they can’t be either male or female. The differences in a bell pepper perpetuated in myths like sweetness and the number of seeds in peppers with three or four lobes are also false.
Bell peppers are a type of vegetable that can be either male or female. In plants, there are two types of cells—the stamen and the pistil. The stamen is the male organ, and the pistil is the female organ. In bell peppers, there are three sets of these cells: the fused stem (the central part of the pepper), the ribs (which run along the stem), and the fruit (the peppers themselves).
So, what’s the difference between male and female bell peppers? There is no such thing as male and female bell peppers. Bell peppers don’t have any organs for reproduction, so they can’t be either male or female. The differences in a bell pepper perpetuated in myths like sweetness and the number of seeds in peppers with three or four lobes are also false.
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applestar
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Ah, PaulF got his answer in before I finished writing — well, here’s my contribution (BTW I didn’t realize peppers can have as many as 6 lobes)
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Botanically, I don’t believe there are male vs female fruits — and no distinction such as male vs female seeds.
If I remember the origins of peppers correctly, four-lobed “bell” type peppers were developed by human intervention over time from the wilder type that are 2 and 3 lobed with pointed ends. I believe the four lobes were basically the occasional mega/fused -blossom at the start.
3-lobes are already the mega/fused type of 2-lobe, and by selecting for the 3-lobes — by always saving seeds of the 3-lobe rather than 2-lobe — you can increase the propensity to produce the 3-lobed type fruits in the genetic lines you are promoting.
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Botanically, I don’t believe there are male vs female fruits — and no distinction such as male vs female seeds.
If I remember the origins of peppers correctly, four-lobed “bell” type peppers were developed by human intervention over time from the wilder type that are 2 and 3 lobed with pointed ends. I believe the four lobes were basically the occasional mega/fused -blossom at the start.
3-lobes are already the mega/fused type of 2-lobe, and by selecting for the 3-lobes — by always saving seeds of the 3-lobe rather than 2-lobe — you can increase the propensity to produce the 3-lobed type fruits in the genetic lines you are promoting.
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pepperhead212
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I never heard of such a thing. How could the fruits be male or female? And peppers don't even have male or female flowers - they are bisexual, like tomatoes, and many others, that can self-pollinate. Some, like squash, do produce male and female flowers, but on the same plant, and are termed monoecious, and all plants will produce fruits. Some plants, though not things we usually grow for vegetables, are dioecious, with separate male and female plants, but only the female can produce fruits, berries, seeds, etc. A fruit in one of these, with a single seed, could be a male or female fruit.
Paul and apple got their posts in while I was typing! Must have gotten started early.
Paul and apple got their posts in while I was typing! Must have gotten started early.
Fruit can be female, males would make flowers but never make fruits. All the flowers on solanaceous fruit are complete so they have both male and female parts so all could potentially produce fruit.
However, there are plants that have separate male and female flowers sometimes on the same plant and sometimes on different plants. Papaya is one of them it has a hermaphodite form that has the male and female flowers on the same plant and dioecious forms where the male flowers are on one tree and the female flowers are on a separate tree. The males will only produce flowers and most people will cut them down. The female trees will produce round fruit but need to be pollinated by bees who gather pollen from nearby papaya trees.
The seeds in papaya can be either of these three forms. You can't tell by looking at them, and the papaya will need to be about 5 months old before they can be sexed. Male flowers appear first, so you must not be too hasty and cut them down. Unless the flowers are in long panicles, then go ahead. Female and hermaphrodite flowers will appear later.
However, there are plants that have separate male and female flowers sometimes on the same plant and sometimes on different plants. Papaya is one of them it has a hermaphodite form that has the male and female flowers on the same plant and dioecious forms where the male flowers are on one tree and the female flowers are on a separate tree. The males will only produce flowers and most people will cut them down. The female trees will produce round fruit but need to be pollinated by bees who gather pollen from nearby papaya trees.
The seeds in papaya can be either of these three forms. You can't tell by looking at them, and the papaya will need to be about 5 months old before they can be sexed. Male flowers appear first, so you must not be too hasty and cut them down. Unless the flowers are in long panicles, then go ahead. Female and hermaphrodite flowers will appear later.