Do Tomatoes Come From Plants?

The tomato is the edible berry of the plant Solanum lycopersicum, commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America.

Are tomatoes a plant?

tomato, (Solanum lycopersicum), flowering plant of the nightshade family (Solanaceae), cultivated extensively for its edible fruits. Labelled as a vegetable for nutritional purposes, tomatoes are a good source of vitamin C and the phytochemical lycopene.

Where does the tomato come from?

Tomatoes are native to South America, in fact, several species are still found growing wild in the Andes. Brought to Mexico, tomatoes were domesticated and cultivated there by 500 BC. It is thought that the first cultivated tomato was small and yellow.

What plant produces tomatoes?

Determinate tomatoes, better known as bush varieties grow 2 to 3 feet tall. These varieties tend to provide numerous ripe tomatoes at one time. They do not put on much leaf growth after setting fruit, and tend to fruit for a (relatively) brief period of time.

Does a tomato come from a tree?

The tomato tree (Cyphonandra betacea) is a perennial shrub, he said. If planted in the proper region, the tree produces fruit from flowers in three months. Tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum) are annual vines that produce fruit in weeks, not months.

Are tomatoes man made?

Modern-day tomatoes are technically man made. The original fruit was small and yellow, existing primarily in Aztec communities in South America. When Spanish conquistadors came to the Amazon rainforests, they brought the “golden apples” to Europe.

Is tomato a fruit or flower?

To a botanist, a fruit is an entity that develops from the fertilized ovary of a flower. This means that tomatoes, squash, pumpkins, cucumbers, peppers, eggplants, corn kernels, and bean and pea pods are all fruits; so are apples, pears, peaches, apricots, melons and mangos.

How do tomatoes grow naturally?

Wild tomatoes started out as small berries growing on bushes somewhere in South America. Some food historians believe the plants took root along the warm coastal regions of Ecuador and Peru. Others think the plants and fruits were first found growing in the Andes Mountains.

What part of the plant becomes a tomato?

fruit
But in botany, tomato is a fruit. Fruit is defined as a part of a plant that develops from a flower’s ovary and has seeds. Since a tomato develops from its flower’s ovary and it has seeds inside, it is a fruit.

How are tomatoes produced?

Commercially produced tomatoes generally are started as transplants in the greenhouse 42 to 56 days prior to planting in the field. Because tomatoes are a warm-season crop, they should not be transplanted until soil temperatures 3 inches beneath the soil surface reach 60°F.

How many tomatoes does a plant produce?

On average, a tomato plant can yield 10 to 30 pounds of tomatoes. Depending on the size of the tomatoes, this can be roughly 20 to 90 tomatoes from a single plant. When grown in a square foot garden, each tomato plant can typically yield up to 20 pounds, depending on environmental factors.

When did humans start eating tomatoes?

The tomato was eaten by the Aztecs as early as 700 AD and called the “tomatl,” (its name in Nahuatl), and wasn’t grown in Britain until the 1590s.

Can dogs eat tomatoes?

Dogs can eat tomatoes but only in small amounts. Ripe tomatoes are considered nontoxic to dogs and can be fed in moderation as an occasional snack.

Is tomato a root stem or leaf?

Tomato plants are dicots, and grow as a series of branching stems, with a terminal bud at the tip that does the actual growing.

Do cherry tomatoes grow from a tree?

Most cherry tomato varieties are indeterminate, meaning they continue to grow their vines and produce fruit throughout the season. To control them, you need to provide a support structure for the vines, such as a tomato cage.

Do tomatoes grow on vines or bushes?

The terms vine tomato and bush tomato can be confusing because all tomatoes grow on vines. There is no plant called a tomato bush. These plants are described as either vining or bush for the shape they take on they mature.

Which vegetable is made by human?

Broccoli
Different parts of the cabbage were selectively bred for appearance, color, and taste. Through multiple generations, we have the vegetables that we have today. In fact, the broccoli form we have today has been around since the Roman Empire, so it’s stood the test of time.

Are bananas real?

Bananas are both a fruit and not a fruit. While the banana plant is colloquially called a banana tree, it’s actually an herb distantly related to ginger, since the plant has a succulent tree stem, instead of a wood one. The yellow thing you peel and eat is, in fact, a fruit because it contains the seeds of the plant.

Are cucumbers manmade?

Even though cucumbers are technically a fruit, they belong to vegetable groups and are also man-made. The cultivation of cucumbers has happened for over 3,000 years. The cucumbers we eat today originate from spiky fruits known as Cucumis hystrix, or wild cucumbers originating in India.

Why is tomato not a vegetable?

Tomatoes are botanically defined as fruits because they form from a flower and contain seeds. Still, they’re most often utilized like a vegetable in cooking. In fact, the US Supreme Court ruled in 1893 that the tomato should be classified as a vegetable on the basis of its culinary applications.

Is a cucumber a fruit?

The botanical classification: Cucumbers are fruit.
A botanical fruit would have at least one seed and grow from the flower of the plant. With this definition in mind, cucumbers are classified as fruit because they contain tiny seeds in the middle and grow from the flower of the cucumber plant.