I call shenanigans on the previous poster. Acetic acids and acetic acid salts are chelating agents. Vinegar is a mixture that contains, among other acids, an acetic acid. The acetic acid commonly found in white table vinegar can sequester iron and calcium under acidic conditions. Thank you for your time, Maria

A friend found it in her yard. We live in Venice Florida. Nothing has sprouted yet. She said it has a liquid inside of it and it smells like a cucumber. I spk to a few other people and one said looks like a cactus? they are looking into it as well. Thank you, wish I could give you more info.

good point tim - people once thought tree of heaven was lovely too. ;) it is good to be aware of that issue - invasive plants are a huge problem here in california because so many kinds of plants adapt and naturalize here... maybe investigate it before putting it in the ground to make sure it's not listed as invasive? i just did some googling - and it is listed as invasive in some places. Morning glories are often bad news.... and they take over where natives used to be. All that ice plant between LA and San Diego is invasive - and now the native plants are gone.... I don't mean to be all Debbie Downer but it's worth looking into it a bit further I think....http://www.public.asu.edu/~camartin/plants/Plant%20html%20files/ipomoeafistulosa.html

katyajini, I haven't compared my peppers with other cayennes, so I'm no help there. I got my seeds many years ago from Park Seed. They list it as a hybrid, so strictly speaking I can't save seeds and call them Kung Pao. However, I never noticed any changes in it over the years, so it's pretty stable. The pods dry well, and I use them throughout the year for Kung Pao Chicken, Shrimp, or Beef. Cooking for two, I find two dry pods give the correct spice level for us. This year I've got two plants and I'm getting way more pods than I need. I'll be pleased to send you seeds. The other way I use it is for pepper vinegar. I use green pods for the vinegar.