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prettygoodwordtomato (toh-MAY-toh, toh-MAH-toh, let's call the whole thing off) - n., a widely cultivated plant, Solanum lycopersicum, with edible fruit; the rounded, edible, pulpy fruit of this plant.
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Like chiles, the wild ancestor (S. pimpinellifolium) was native to western South America and first domesticated there. There are many cultivars, including some hybridized from close relatives of S. pimpinellifolium. Cultivation spread throughout the Americas, and was present in southern Mexico by 500 BCE, and from there the Spaniards introduced it to Europe and beyond. Interestingly, the Nahautl word the Spanish used for this, tomatl, actually means tomatillo, which is yes also a nightshade, but is less closely related to tomatoes as potatoes and eggplant, which are both also genus Solanum.
---L.
Thanks, WikiMedia!
Like chiles, the wild ancestor (S. pimpinellifolium) was native to western South America and first domesticated there. There are many cultivars, including some hybridized from close relatives of S. pimpinellifolium. Cultivation spread throughout the Americas, and was present in southern Mexico by 500 BCE, and from there the Spaniards introduced it to Europe and beyond. Interestingly, the Nahautl word the Spanish used for this, tomatl, actually means tomatillo, which is yes also a nightshade, but is less closely related to tomatoes as potatoes and eggplant, which are both also genus Solanum.
---L.
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Date: 2025-07-31 03:59 am (UTC)10/10, no notes.
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Date: 2025-07-31 02:23 pm (UTC)