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.