Fruit « Botanical Feast

Tomato

Some things you might not know about tomatoes:

There are around 7500 varieties of tomato grown
They contain lycopene, one of the most powerful natural antioxidants.
Technically a tomato fruit is classified as a berry
The leaves of tomato plants are poisonous
The heaviest tomato ever grown was one of 3.51 kg

Botanical Information

Family: Solanaceae

Scientific Name: Solanum lycopersicum L. (described here)

Etymology: Solanum (nightshade) lyco (wolf) persicum (peach)

Uses: Cooking, raw and cooked.

History: The tomato originated in the highlands of South America and was brought to europe by Spanish explorers in the late 15th or early 16th century.

Figs

Some things you might not know about figs:

There are about 800 species of figs.
The ‘fruit’ that we eat is not a fruit, but actually a collection of flowers called an inflorescence.
These flowers grow on the inside of the ‘fruit’.
Each species of fig is usually pollinated by its own species of wasp in a symbiotic relationship.
It is thought that figs could be the oldest cultivated crop (preceding wheat and rye by up to 1000 years).
Figs have a higher quantity of fibre than any other dried or fresh fruit.

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Lemon

Some things you might not know about lemons:

Lemons are members of the Rutaceae family (Rutceae).
Lemons have been used as contraceptive in historical times and lemon juice has been shown to kill HIV.
Lemons are native to south east Asia, Persia and the Himalayas.

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Avocado

Some things you might not know about avocados:

Avocados are members of the Laurel family (Lauraceae).
The common name avocado is derived from the Aztec word for testicle.
Avocados are about one third fat (although most of this is the monounsaturated kind).
Avocados have been cultivated since 8000BC.

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