<Tr> <Th> Scoville scale </Th> <Td> 1,569,300 on average SHU </Td> </Tr> <P> The Carolina Reaper, originally named the HP22B, is a cultivar of the Capsicum chinense plant . The pepper is red and gnarled, with a small pointed tail . In 2013, Guinness World Records dubbed it the hottest chili in the world, surpassing the previous record holder, the Trinidad Scorpion "Butch T". </P> <P> As of September 2017, the hottest chili pepper known is Pepper X having a Scoville scale of 3.18 million units . </P> <P> Bred in a Rock Hill, South Carolina greenhouse by "Smokin" Ed Currie, proprietor of the PuckerButt Pepper Company in Fort Mill, the Carolina Reaper has been certified as the world's hottest chili pepper by Guinness World Records since August 7, 2013 . The original crossbreed was between a Bhut jolokia (a former world record holder) and a red habanero, and is named' Reaper' due to the shape of its tail . The official Guinness World Record heat level is 1,569,300 Scoville Heat Units (SHU), according to tests conducted by Winthrop University in South Carolina . The figure is an average for the tested batch; the hottest individual pepper was measured at 2.2 million SHU . </P>

Hottest pepper in the world on scoville scale