Bell peppers , a favorite, are usually about 3 inches wide by 4 inches long, with three or four lobes and a blocky appearance. The green bell peppers aren't actually ripe yet. The peppers turn red or yellow when fully ripe. New varieties can be purple, brown, golden or orange when the peppers are allowed to ripen on the plant. About 200 cultivars are available.
Banana peppers are long and tapering and are harvested ripe when yellow, orange or red.
Pimiento peppers have conical, thick-walled fruits 2 to 3 inches wide by 4 inches long. Most are used when red and fully ripe. Cherry peppers vary in size and flavor. Usually they're harvested orange to deep red. Slim, pointed, slightly twisted fruits characterize the hot cayenne group.