

Although the name Lycopersicum lycopersicum was suggested by Karsten (1888), it is not used because it violates the International Code of Nomenclature barring the use of tautonyms in botanical nomenclature. The name came into wide use, but was technically in breach of the plant naming rules because Linnaeus's species name lycopersicum still had priority. In 1768, Philip Miller moved it to its own genus, naming it Lycopersicon esculentum. In 1753, Linnaeus placed the tomato in the genus Solanum (alongside the potato) as Solanum lycopersicum. įor propagation, the seeds need to come from a mature fruit, and must be lightly fermented to remove the gelatinous outer coating and then dried before use. Some smaller varieties have two cavities, globe-shaped varieties typically have three to five, beefsteak tomatoes have a great number of smaller cavities, while paste tomatoes have very few, very small cavities. These vary, among cultivated species, according to type.
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The fruit contains hollow spaces full of seeds and moisture, called locular cavities. As a true fruit, it develops from the ovary of the plant after fertilization, its flesh comprising the pericarp walls. Īlthough in culinary terms, tomato is regarded as a vegetable, its fruit is classified botanically as a berry. The flowers are 1–2 cm ( 1⁄ 2– 3⁄ 4 in) across, yellow, with five pointed lobes on the corolla they are borne in a cyme of three to 12 together. Flowers in domestic cultivars can be self-fertilizing. Their flowers, appearing on the apical meristem, have the anthers fused along the edges, forming a column surrounding the pistil's style. The leaves are 10–25 cm (4–10 in) long, odd pinnate, with five to nine leaflets on petioles, each leaflet up to 8 cm (3 in) long, with a serrated margin both the stem and leaves are densely glandular-hairy. Of RL plants, there are variations, such as rugose leaves, which are deeply grooved, and variegated, angora leaves, which have additional colors where a genetic mutation causes chlorophyll to be excluded from some portions of the leaves. Most tomato plants have compound leaves, and are called regular leaf (RL) plants, but some cultivars have simple leaves known as potato leaf (PL) style because of their resemblance to that particular relative. The hairs facilitate the vining process, turning into roots wherever the plant is in contact with the ground and moisture, especially if the vine's connection to its original root has been damaged or severed. Tomato vines are typically pubescent, meaning covered with fine short hairs. (Determinate, or bush, plants are annuals that stop growing at a certain height and produce a crop all at once.) The size of the tomato varies according to the cultivar, with a range of 1–10 cm ( 1⁄ 2–4 in) in width. Indeterminate tomato plants are perennials in their native habitat, but are cultivated as annuals. They are vines that have a weak stem that sprawls and typically needs support. Tomato plants typically grow to 1–3 meters (3–10 ft) in height. Numerous varieties of the tomato plant are widely grown in temperate climates across the world, with greenhouses allowing for the production of tomatoes throughout all seasons of the year. While tomatoes are fruits- botanically classified as berries-they are commonly used culinarily as a vegetable ingredient or side dish. They are consumed in diverse ways: raw or cooked, and in many dishes, sauces, salads, and drinks. Tomatoes are a significant source of umami flavor. From there, the tomato was introduced to other parts of the European-colonized world during the 16th century. The Aztecs used tomatoes in their cooking at the time of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, and after the Spanish encountered the tomato for the first time after their contact with the Aztecs, they brought the plant to Europe, in a widespread transfer of plants known as the Columbian exchange. Its domestication and use as a cultivated food may have originated with the indigenous peoples of Mexico. The Nahuatl word tomatl gave rise to the Spanish word tomate, from which the English word tomato derived. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The tomato ( / t ə m eɪ t oʊ/ or / t ə m ɑː t oʊ/) is the edible berry of the plant Solanum lycopersicum, commonly known as the tomato plant. Tomatoes: whole, halved vertically and halved horizontally
