Tomato, Garden Tomato
Solanum lycopersicum

Family: Solanaceae

What it is like

Solanum lycopersicum, Tomato, is a species belonging to the Solanaceae family that originated in Central and South America and now grown worldwide for its edible fruits. It is perennial in its native habitat but grown as an annual in temperate climates, usually growing about 3 m in height. It is covered with fine short hairs. The leaves are compound, odd pinnate, with five to nine leaflets on petioles. The flowers are yellow in cyme inflorescence. The fruits are classified as berries. Tomato fruits can be used for first aid treatment for burns, scalds, and sunburn. Root decoction is ingested for relief from tooth pain. Tomatoes are rich in lycopene, a substance with beneficial effects on the heart and prostate. It is also used for rheumatism and headaches.Tomato fruits are consumed in many various ways and forms, either raw or cooked. It can also be made into juice, or dried and ground into a powder. The seeds yield edible oil. The oil can also be used in making soap. Tomato leaves can be made into a spray as an effective insecticide.

Solanum lycopersicum is a ANNUAL growing to 2 m (6ft) by 1.5 m (5ft) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. The flowers are pollinated by Insects. The plant is self-fertile. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid and neutral soils and can grow in very acid soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.

Height (m): 2

Where it is found

Not known in a truly wild situation.

Original habitat is obscure, probably Western S. America.

Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Central Africa, Congo, Haiti.

How it is used

Food

Rating: 5

Fruit - raw or cooked. It can be used as a savoury vegetable or flavouring in cooked foods, or can be eaten out of hand as a dessert fruit. It is much used in salads and as a flavouring in soups and other cooked foods. A juice made from the fruit is often sold in health food shops. The fruit can also be dried and ground into a powder that can be used as a flavouring and thickening agent in soups, breads, pancakes etc. An edible oil is obtained from the seed. Suitable for culinary purposes. It can be used raw in salads, or used to make margarine. The seed is small and it would be very fiddly to utilize. It is only viable to use the seed as a source of oil if large quantities of the plants are being grown for their fruits and the seed is not wanted.

Oil: Oil

Seed: includes nuts, cereals, peas and beans.

Drink: not including plant saps, tea or coffee substitutes.

Medicine

Rating: 3

The pulped fruit is an extremely beneficial skin-wash for people with oily skin. Sliced fruits are a quick and easy first aid treatment for burns, scalds and sunburn. A decoction of the root is ingested in the treatment of toothache. The skin of tomato fruits is a good source of lycopine, a substance that has been shown to protect people from heart attacks. It seems to be more effective when it is cooked and so can be obtained from food products such as tomato ketchup and tinned tomatoes. Lycopine has also been shown to have a very beneficial effect upon the prostate and is being used increasingly to treat enlarge prostate and the difficulties in urination that accompany this disorder. The leaves, in a mixture with castor oil (Ricinus communis), is used in the treatment of incipient leprosy spots. A paste of the leaves is applied to filarial worm swellings on a painful groin. A homeopathic remedy is made from the plant. It is used in the treatment of rheumatism and severe headaches.

Antirheumatic: Treats rheumatism.

Leprosy: Used to treat leprosy - a chronic bacterial infection of the skin and superficial nerves (in the skin) caused by Mycobacterium leprae.

Odontalgic: Treats toothache (temporary measure only) and other problems of the teeth and gums.

Skin: Plants used in miscellaneous treatments for the skin.

Other

Rating: 3

Agroforestry Uses: Tomatoes grow well with asparagus, parsley, brassicas and stinging nettles. They are also a good companion for gooseberries, helping to keep them free of insect pests. They dislike growing near fennel, kohl-rabi, potatoes and brassicas (this is not a typing error, merely a difference of opinion between different books). Other Uses The strong aroma of this plant is said to repel insects from nearby plants. A semi-drying oil is obtained from the seed. It can be used in making soap. See the notes above regarding utilization. A spray made from tomato leaves is an effective but very poisonous insecticide. It is especially effective against ants but should be used with great caution because it will also kill beneficial insects and, if ingested, is toxic to humans. The pulp of the fruit is used cosmetically in face-packs.

Companion: Companion planting is the careful placement of plants (especially vegetables and herbs) which have been shown to have beneficial effects on one another.

Cosmetic: Used to improve the physical appearence of a person.

Insecticide: Kills insects.

Oil: Vegetable oils have many uses, as lubricants, lighting, soap and paint making, waterproofing etc. This does not include the edible oils unless they are also mentioned as having other uses.

Repellent: Plants that are said to deter but not necessarily kill various mammals, birds, insects etc.

Soap making: Plants used as an ingredient in making soaps. Does not include the essential oils, dyes and oils that are also used in making soap.

Teeth: Plants used to clean and care for the teeth.

Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.

How it is grown

A plant of the tropics, it is also widely cultivated in the subtropics and temperate zone (where it is often grown under protection). In the tropics it can be grown at elevations from sea level up to 2,000 metres, but generally fruits better above 1,000 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 20 - 27°c, but can tolerate 7 - 35°c. It prefers a diurnal temperature variation of at least 5 - 6°c. The plant cannot tolerate frosts. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 600 - 1,300mm, but tolerates 400 - 1,800mm. High rainfall and high relative humidity adversely affect growth. Requires a fertile, humus-rich, well-drained soil in a warm sunny position. Slightly acid conditions, with a pH in the range 5.8 - 6.8, are preferred, though the plant can tolerate 5 - 7.5. Yields of ripe fruit from upright forms of the plant can commence 2 - 3 months after sowing the seed; other forms might take 4 - 5 months. Yields of 15 tonnes per hectare can be obtained. Yields are mainly between 20 - 40 tonnes per hectare, but yields up to 150 tonnes have been recorded. There are many named varieties and over the considerable period of cultivation by humans two distinct types have emerged. These are: L. Esculentum cerasiforme (Dunal.)A.Gray. This is the cherry tomato. Closer to the original species, it produces a large crop of small fruits with a delicious sweetness. L. Esculentum esculentum. This is the more commonly grown tomato with much larger fruits. There are a very large number of cultivars with a wide variety of colours and fruit shapes and sizes. This species hybridizes with the currant tomato (S. Pimpinellifolium), but does not hybridize with the wild tomato (S. Peruvianum).

Propagating it: Seed - sow in containers or in a seedbed. Germination is usually quick and good. Plant out into permanent positions when about 8 - 10cm tall. Seed can also be sown in situ. The seedcoat may carry tomato mosaic virus. However, by sowing the seed 15mm deep the seedcoat will remain below the soil surface when the seed germinates and the disease will be inactivated.

Best place to grow:

Habit: Annual

Hardiness: 10-12

Growth: Fast

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: No shade

Moisture: Moist

Things to keep in mind

All green parts of the plant are poisonous. Although providing many well-known foods for people, including the potato, tomato, pepper and aubergine, most plants in the family Solanaceae also contain poisonous alkaloids. Unless there are specific entries with information on edible uses, it would be unwise to ingest any part of this plant.

Its other names

Local names

dumádu, garden tomato, love apple, lycopersicum esculentum, tomate, tomato, tomato extract containing lycopene, tomato|thakkali, tumatis.

Synonyms

Lycopersicon cerasiforme Dunal Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. Lycopersicon humboldtii (Willd.) Dunal