Tomato

Tomato, or LOVE-APPLE (Lycopersicum esculentum), an annual herbaceous plant, native to South America, probably Mexico, belonging to the order Solanaceae, cultivated in Europe, for the sake of its wholesome fruit, since the beginning of the 16th century. It has irregularly pinnate leaves; extra-axillary, many-flowered infloresences; connate anthers dehiscing by longitudinal slits; and polished, scarlet or yellow, many-seeded fruits. The flowers are often fasciated so as to produce a many-chambered, irregularly-lobed fruit; but two varieties in which there are only two carpels, L. e. cerasiforme, with a round, cherry-like fruit, and L. e. pyriforme, pear-shaped, have sometimes been considered specifically distinct. The consumption of this valuable acidulous fruit in England is on the increase, about 1,000 tons being sold annually. It will not always ripen out of doors in this country, but large quantities imported, both fresh and in tins, from America and the Continent. It is eaten raw in salad, cooked with meat, or as a sauce or ketchup.