Tomato, tomate

Lycopersicon esculentum Miller, name conserved; L. lycopersicum (Linnaeus) H. Karsten; L. esculentum var. cerasiforme Alefeld; Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme (Alefeld) Voss

Herbs, annual, erect or scan­dent, unarmed, ca. 0.5–1.5 m, moderately to densely pubes­cent, hairs simple, glandular and eglandular. Leaves petiolate; petiole 2–10 cm; blade compound, elliptic, 10–30+ × 5–25 cm, margins divided with 3(–5) pairs of leaflets, interspersed with smaller interjected leaflets, leaflet margins toothed, base truncate to cordate. Inflorescences lateral, extra-axillary, simple or rarely forked, 4–15-flowered, to 10 cm. Pedicels articulated near middle, 0.5–2 cm in flower, to 3 cm in fruit. Flowers radially symmetric; calyx accrescent, unarmed, 5–25 mm, lobes 5–7, lanceolate-acuminate; corolla yellow, pentagonal to stellate, 1–3 cm diam., with interpetalar tissue at margins and bases of lobes; stamens equal; anthers narrow and tapered, 6–11 mm, each with a sterile apical appendage, dehiscent by oblong pores that open into introrse, longitudinal slits; ovary glabrous or glandular-puberulent. Berries usually red, orange, or yellow, globose to ellipsoid or obovoid, 1.5–12 cm diam., glabrous, without sclerotic granules. Seeds pale brown, flattened, 2–4 × 1.5–2 mm, pubescent. 2n = 24.

Flowering year-round in Fla., May–frost elsewhere. Disturbed habitats, rich soils; 0–2000 m; introduced; widely cultivated; South America; introduced also in temperate and tropical countries worldwide.

The tomato is a major agricultural crop and is com­monly grown in home gardens. The fruits can have a variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and flavors and are used raw or cooked in a vast array of dishes. Other parts of the plants are considered to be poisonous. The flowers can commonly be six- to eight-merous, especially in varieties selected for very large fruits.

The ancestors of Solanum lycopersicum were orig­inally from western South America, but the species is now known only from cultivation. Tomatoes frequently escape from cultivation or germinate in compost piles or garbage dumps but are very susceptible to frost, rarely persist, and are not invasive, even in warm climates.