Tomatoes

The tomato comes from the Solanum lycopersicum plant, commonly known as a tomato plant. The exact origin of the tomato plant is unknown, although it is speculated that it evolved from the prehistoric plant Nighshade over millions of years ago in South America and slowly moved north until it was domesticated in Mesoamerica between Mexico and northern Costa Rica.

Did you know?

• There’s a common misconception that tomatoes are a vegetable, however, scientifically speaking they are actually a FRUIT. True fruits are developed from the ovary in the base of the flower, and contain the seeds of the plant- exactly like a tomato.
• The Nahuatl word tomatl gave rise to the Spanish word tomate, from which the English word tomato derived.