Family: Solanaceae
garden tomato
[Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.]
Merel R. Black
Matthew L. Wagner
University of Wisconsin - Madison (WIS-VP)
Etymology: Lycopersicon: from Greek lykos, "wolf," and persicon, "a peach," because of supposed poisonous properties, and originally the name of an Egyptian plant later transferred to this American genus
Plants: annual forb
Conservation Status: Introduced - adventive
Plants: annual forb
Conservation Status: Introduced - adventive
Tomato. A cultigen of South American origin, seldom appearing as a waif, escape, or discard but not persisting in open disturbed ground (e.g., roadsides, dumps, disturbed alluvium, gravel fill). First collected ca. 1860–1862 in Madison and ca. 1869–1881 in Milwaukee. Whether either specimen represents an escape is debatable.
Plants are villous, glandular, and aromatic, and the leaves, like those of potato, are pinnately compound with small leaflets interspersed between the 5 to 9 principal leaflets. Contemporary botanists generally concede that Lycopersicon should be included within Solanum (see Peralta et al., 2008).
USDA Plants Database: Federal Distribution and detailed information including photos Southwest School of Botanical Medicine: Britton & Brown Illustrated Flora - 2nd Edition (1913) "An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada"
Merel R. Black
Matthew L. Wagner
Michael Clayton
Kenneth J. Sytsma
Kenneth J. Sytsma
