Tomato, or LOVE-APPLE (Lycopersicum esculentum), a plant of the natural order Solanaceæ, so named by Tournefort, but subsequently combined by Linnæus with the genus Solanum, now, however, recognised as a distinct genus under the name of the earlier botanist. It is distinguished from Solanum by the stamens having the anthers connected by a thin membrane, and by their cells opening in longitudinal slits on the sides, not in pores at the apex as in that genus. The fruit is fleshy, usually red or yellow, divided into two, three, or more cells containing numerous seeds imbedded in pulp. The tomato is one of a genus of several species, all natives of South America, chiefly on the Peruvian side. It is the only species in cultivation in Europe, into which it was brought by the Spaniards in 1583. In the warmer countries of Europe, the United States, and other countries in which the summer is warm and prolonged, it has long been cultivated for the excellent qualities of the fruit as an article of diet. Although belonging to a natural order of plants usually regarded with suspicion on account of the powerfully poisonous late years developed into a distinct horticultural industry, like grape-growing and mushroom-growing. Very extensive establishments in glass have been erected at Worthing in Sussex and at other places in England and in Scotland exclusively for its culture, which proves a remunerative enterprise. The plant is annual in duration, and too tender to be grown successfully in the open air in Britain, except it is reared in heat and grown in pots to the flowering stage under glass before the beginning of June, the earliest period at which it may be safely turned out of doors. Even then it must be planted against a wall with a warm exposure and well sheltered. The seeds are sown in February and March in a temperature of 55° to 65°. An open friable soil is essential, and the use of potash as a manure is hardly less so. The details of management cannot be entered into here. Like its near relative the potato, the tomato is subject to attacks of phytophthora—the potato-disease fungus, and the fruit is liable to a disease also of fungus origin, which causes considerable loss to inexperienced growers, but rarely attack the plants of those who understand their treatment under glass.
The fruit is cooked in a great variety of ways: broiled or fried by itself, or with meat or other accompaniments; made into soups and sauces; sliced raw, it is an excellent ingredient in salads, and eaten with vinegar and pepper and salt uncooked it is perhaps as wholesome and refreshing as in any other way. Its use in any way as food is considered beneficial in affections of the liver, indigestion, and diarrhoea. The word tomato is derived from the Spanish American name tamate, and the English name Love-apple has arisen from its supposed aphrodisiac properties.