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Lycopersicon esculentum - Mill.

Tomato

Author	Mill.	Botanical references	200
Family	Solanaceae	Genus	Lycopersicon
Synonyms	Lycopersicon lycopersicum - L.
Known Hazards	All green parts of the plant are poisonous[19, 76].
Range	Original habitat is obscure, probably Western S. America, a cultivated form of L. cerasiforme[132].
Habitat	Not known in a truly wild situation.
Edibility Rating	4 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	3 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 2m by 0.4m.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats

Cultivated Beds;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Fruit.

Edible Uses: Oil.

Fruit - raw or cooked[1, 2, 3, 37]. 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[183]. A juice made from the fruit is often sold in health food shops[183]. 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[183]. An edible oil is obtained from the seed[46, 61, 171]. Suitable for culinary purposes[183]. 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.

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Cardiac; Homeopathy; Odontalgic; Skin.

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[201]. A decoction of the root is ingested in the treatment of toothache[218]. 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[246]. 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. A homeopathic remedy is made from the plant[7]. It is used in the treatment of rheumatism and severe headaches[7].

Other Uses

Cosmetic; Insecticide; Repellent.

The strong aroma of this plant is said to repel insects from nearby plants[7, 18, 20]. A semi-drying oil is obtained from the seed. It can be used in making soap[46, 61, 171]. See the notes above regarding utilization. A spray made from tomato leaves is an effective but very poisonous insecticide[201]. It is especially effective against ants[7] but should be used with great caution because it will also kill beneficial insects and, if ingested, is toxic to humans[K]. The pulp of the fruit is used cosmetically in face-packs[7].

Cultivation details

Requires a rich well-drained soil in a warm sunny position. The tomato is widely grown throughout the world for its edible fruit. There are many named varieties and over the considerable period of cultivation by humans two distinct types have emerged[183]. 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. Tomato plants are not frost-tolerant and generally need to be started off in a greenhouse in the spring if they are to succeed outdoors in Britain. They also need a hot sunny summer if they are to fruit well. Some varieties have been developed that can be successfully grown outdoors during the summer in temperate climates such as Britain, although good summers are still required in order to get reasonable yields. Varieties have been developed in Eastern Europe that can flower and set fruit at 7°c (this is compared with a temperature requirement of 11 - 13°c in earlier varieties). These varieties could provide a basis for the commercial outdoor cultivation of tomatoes in Britain[141]. Tomatoes grow well with asparagus, parsley, brassicas and stinging nettles[18, 54]. They are also a good companion for gooseberries, helping to keep them free of insect pests[201]. They dislike growing near fennel, kohl-rabi, potatoes[18, 20] and brassicas[20] (this is not a typing error, merely a difference of opinion between different books). This species hybridizes with L. pimpinellifolium (which is called L. esculentum pimpinellifolium by some botanists) but it does not hybridize with L. peruvianum[114].

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a warm greenhouse. Germination is usually quick and good. Pot up the seedlings into individual pots of fairly rich compost as soon as the first true leaf appears and plant them out after the last expected frosts. Seed can also be sown in situ under a cloche at the end of April, though in a cool summer the results may be disappointing. 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[124].

Cultivars

There are many named varieties of this annual fruit, with new forms being developed each year. At present there is not time to enter these in the database and it is recommended that you consult the book 'The Fruit and Vegetable Finder' which is updated regularly and can be obtained from libraries.

Links

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[3] Simmons. A. E. Growing Unusual Fruit. David and Charles 1972 ISBN 0-7153-5531-7
A very readable book with information on about 100 species that can be grown in Britain (some in greenhouses) and details on how to grow and use them.

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[18] Philbrick H. and Gregg R. B. Companion Plants. Watkins 1979
Details of beneficial and antagonistic relationships between neighbouring plants.

[19] Stary. F. Poisonous Plants. Hamlyn 1983 ISBN 0-600-35666-3
Not very comprehensive, but easy reading.

[20] Riotte. L. Companion Planting for Successful Gardening. Garden Way, Vermont, USA. 1978 ISBN 0-88266-064-0
Fairly good.

[37] Thompson. B. The Gardener's Assistant. Blackie and Son. 1878
Excellent general but extensive guide to gardening practices in the 19th century. A very good section on fruits and vegetables with many little known species.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[54] Hatfield. A. W. How to Enjoy your Weeds. Frederick Muller Ltd 1977 ISBN 0-584-10141-4
Interesting reading.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[76] Cooper. M. and Johnson. A. Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. HMSO 1984 ISBN 0112425291
Concentrates mainly on the effects of poisonous plants to livestock.

[114] Chakravarty. H. L. The Plant Wealth of Iraq. 0
It is surprising how many of these plants can be grown in Britain. A very readable book on the useful plants of Iraq.

[124] RHS. The Garden. Volume 113. Royal Horticultural Society 1988
Snippets of information from the magazine of the RHS, including details on Podophyllum, Canna and Protea species.

[132] Bianchini. F., Corbetta. F. and Pistoia. M. Fruits of the Earth. 0
Lovely pictures, a very readable book.

[141] Carruthers. S. P. (Editor) Alternative Enterprises for Agriculture in the UK. Centre for Agricultural Strategy, Univ. of Reading 1986 ISBN 0704909820
Some suggested alternative commercial crops for Britain. Readable. Produced by a University study group.

[171] Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[201] Allardice.P. A - Z of Companion Planting. Cassell Publishers Ltd. 1993 ISBN 0-304-34324-2
A well produced and very readable book.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[246] Radio 4 AM - 1997
A news item on the Radio 4 morning news programme 'AM', 15/10/97.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

Lycopersicon esculentum

Thu Jun 5 15:31:06 2003

This site is an impressive and ambitious idea that seems to be well executed. thank you, I'm sure I'll return.

There is one thing that I've been looking for and you may want to include it since you're obviously working at being a thourough resource.

I'm new to gardenning and would like to know the plant time/harvest time for tomatoes in my hardiness zone (4a/4b). I can't seem to find the answer to this question anywhere.

A similar chart of information for all plants would definately be usefull on a large scale.

Thanks again and if I find myself frequenting this site I'll surely make a donation.

take care

Lycopersicon esculentum

KANNAN . M Tue Aug 5 12:45:32 2003

It is very nice information but it is not enough to me so can you give some information about extraction of lycopine?

Link: lycopersicon esculentum extraction of lycopine

Lycopersicon esculentum

Yvonne Schiebelhut Sun Nov 28 21:15:04 2004

Your site was very informative but, I need help. I have a tomato plant producing fruit, it is the end of November and the tempature ranges from high 50's to lower 40's. I don't know what to do with all the green tomatos. Do you have a solution as to what I should do? Your help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you Yvonne Schiebelhut.

Lycopersicon esculentum

Erin Fri Apr 7 2006

Windowbox troubleshooting for growing tomatoes; you can get live tomato plants shipped to you from this site

Lycopersicon esculentum

Bryan French Fri Jul 13 2007

The benefits of lycopene in plants such as the Lycopersicon genus on prostate cancer and enlarged prostate are now in dispute. Researchers based at the National Cancer Institute and Cancer Research Center have reported that lycopene does not effectively prevent prostate cancer and may infact increase the risk of prostate cancer and other prostate related problems.

Lycopersicon esculentum

yup Tue May 20 2008

tells you which diseases tomatoes can help prevent

Lycopersicon esculentum

Raffi Tue Jun 9 2009

Plants.am Tomato cultivation information

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