The “chile de arbol” (spanish for tree chili) is from the capsicum annuum family and is a small and potent Mexican chili pepper which is also known as bird’s beak chili and rat’s tail chili. These chilies are about 2 to 3 inches (5.1 to 7.6 cm) long. And .14 to .36 inch (0.64 to 0.95 cm) in diameter. Their heat index is between 15,000 and 40,000 Scoville units.

These peppers are bright red colored when mature. Chile de arbol peppers can be found fresh, dried, or powdered. As dried chiles, they are often used to decorate wreaths because they don’t lose their red color after dehydration. In cooking, chile de arbol pepper can be traded with cayenne pepper (15-30,000 Scoville units). Seeds and white arches can be removed from the pepper to tone down its hotness. Care should be taken to avoid touching your eyes after handling this pepper; yours hands must be washed thoroughly after handling the chili or its seeds. The chile de arbol is also grown in India and often known as “Guntur” chilies with a heat range between 15,000- 60,003 SHU, and in China, known as Yunnan chilies or Yunnan cayenne peppers, grown in South China with heat ranging between 25,000 – 40,000 SHU.