Purple discoloration at stem joints. Why?
 

I've had and have seen purple to almost black discoloration of pepper plant stems at the joint of a leaf branch as well as running vertically up the stem. This occurs on otherwise healthy plants. At first I thought it was a magnesium deficiency caused by cooler weather. But then I've seen it last an entire season. What is it? What causes it?

Thanks.

Randy

[FONT=Arial]The purple color on stems of some peppers is normal and not caused by a deficiency or cold weather. The color is caused by Anthocyanin, which makes whole leaves in some of the ornamental peppers purple or black.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthocyanin[/FONT]

Thank you. That explains it. I'm glad they had the jalapeno pepper picture in that article because the text talked more about berries etc.