# Ulupica

Also known as ulupica, ají ulupica, uaika.

Ulupica is a landrace from Luribay Valley, La Paz Department, Bolivia. Capsi’s sourced range is 42,750–69,021 SHU (Lab-verified). Flavor is sharp, herbal, tomato-leaf. Used for Crushed into Bolivian llajua with tomato and herbs, served whole in small table bowls so diners can smash one into soup or stew, pickled in vinegar or oil (escabeche), used fresh or dried and ground. Rarely a bulk cooking chile—ají amarillo and locoto fill that role.. Heat is a range, not a single marketing number.
About 2.1 times a Capsi Jalapeño (25,086 SHU typical).

## Heat sources

- 42,750 SHU · Lab-verified
  Margaret D. Collins, Loide Mayer Wasmund, Paul W. Bosland (1995) HortScience · HPLC
  DOI: 10.21273/HORTSCI.30.1.137
  https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI.30.1.137

- 69,021 SHU · Lab-verified
  L. Tejeda, N. Vasquez Iriarte, J. Ortiz, E. Aliaga-Rossel, P. Mollinedo, J.M. Peñarrieta (2022) Nutrition & Food Science · HPLC
  DOI: 10.1108/NFS-11-2021-0341
  https://doi.org/10.1108/NFS-11-2021-0341

- 51,648 SHU · Lab-verified
  L. Tejeda, N. Vasquez Iriarte, J. Ortiz, E. Aliaga-Rossel, P. Mollinedo, J.M. Peñarrieta (2022) Nutrition & Food Science · HPLC
  DOI: 10.1108/NFS-11-2021-0341
  https://doi.org/10.1108/NFS-11-2021-0341

- 20,000–30,000 SHU · Vendor Claim
  HRSeeds
  https://www.hrseeds.com/product-page/ulupica-usda-pepper-capsicum-cardenasii

- 10,000–30,000 SHU · Vendor Claim
  HRSeeds
  https://www.hrseeds.com/product-page/capsicum-cardenasii-wild-pepper

- 30,000 SHU · Vendor Claim
  Exotic Seeds Shop
  https://exotic-seeds.com/en/home/ulupica-bolivian-chili-seeds-capsicum-cardenasii.html

- 50,000 SHU · Vendor Claim
  DiavoloPiccante
  https://diavolopiccante.it/content/649-ulupica

## Heritage

Landrace

Ulupica is a traditional landrace.

Barboza’s 2022 monograph and the USDA PI 573336 inventory both treat Ulupica as wild Capsicum cardenasii gathered around La Paz, sometimes grown in family plots, with no named parents. Seed listings sell that Bolivian wild type and invent no hybrid pedigree.

## Page sources

- [Barboza et al. 2022 monograph of Capsicum: C. cardenasii morphology, Luribay endemic range, common names Ulupica/Uaika, uses, conservation status](https://phytokeys.pensoft.net/article/71667/)
- [van Zonneveld et al. 2015 screening of Capsicum genetic resources in Bolivia and Peru; ulupica as a consumed wild pepper in Bolivian markets](https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0134663)
- [USDA-line Ulupica seed listing: 20,000–30,000 SHU, pea-sized green-to-red berries, plant habit, self-incompatibility, days to maturity](https://www.hrseeds.com/product-page/ulupica-usda-pepper-capsicum-cardenasii)
- [Useful Tropical Plants: Bolivian range, edible use as hot flavouring, germination 3–4 weeks at 20°C, preferred pH 5.5–5.6](https://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Capsicum+cardenasii)
- [Bolivian agronomic profile: ~1 cm red berries, ≈30,000 SHU, 100 cm plant, mid-elevation valleys, llajua and medicinal uses](https://publiagro.com.bo/2025/09/ulupica-capsicum-cardenasii-manejo-agronomico-del-ancestral-aji-boliviano/)
- [Field and market account of ulupica in Bolivia: llajua and soup use, 30,000 SHU estimate, folk name spanning more than one wild species](https://www.redwagonplants.com/blog-archive/epistle-from-april-ulupica-grandmother-of-peppers)
- [Dave DeWitt on Bolivian ulupica (C. cardenasii): pickled and table use; closest U.S. analog is chiltepin](https://www.fieryfoodscentral.com/2015/07/24/askdave-120/)
- [Lost Crops of the Incas: two Andean ulupicas (C. cardenasii and C. eximium), market and pickle use, hotter than rocoto](https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/1398/chapter/23)

## FAQ
### How hot is Ulupica?

Capsi’s sourced range is 42,750–69,021 SHU (Lab-verified). Capsi uses a sourced range and a trust tier, not a single marketing number. How we verify heat: https://web.thecapsi.app/learn/heat-and-capsaicin/how-we-measure-heat

### What does Ulupica taste like?

A brief green-tomato and crushed-leaf aroma, then a clean, fiery wild-chile burn. Thin walls leave almost no flesh—heat and perfume more than substance.

### How do I grow Ulupica?

Ulupica: about 90 days to maturity, highland subtropical climate, full sun, hardiness zones 9-11.

### What can I substitute for Ulupica?

Capsi does not have that recorded yet.

Page: https://web.thecapsi.app/pepper/ulupica
Catalog: https://web.thecapsi.app/data