On this Wikipedia the language links tomato basil mozzarella appetizer baguette at the top of the page across from the article title. The tomato is the edible berry of the plant Solanum lycopersicum, commonly known as the tomato plant. Its domestication and use as a cultivated food may have originated with the indigenous peoples of Mexico.

Tomatoes are a significant source of umami flavor. They are consumed in diverse ways: raw or cooked, and in many dishes, sauces, salads, and drinks. Numerous varieties of the tomato plant are widely grown in temperate climates across the world, with greenhouses allowing for the production of tomatoes throughout all seasons of the year. It’s all the same to me”. This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources.

Tomato plants are dicots, and grow as a series of branching stems, with a terminal bud at the tip that does the actual growing. When the tip eventually stops growing, whether because of pruning or flowering, lateral buds take over and grow into other, fully functional, vines. Tomato vines are typically pubescent, meaning covered with fine short hairs. The hairs facilitate the vining process, turning into roots wherever the plant is in contact with the ground and moisture, especially if the vine’s connection to its original root has been damaged or severed. Their flowers, appearing on the apical meristem, have the anthers fused along the edges, forming a column surrounding the pistil’s style.

Flowers in domestic cultivars can be self-fertilizing. Although in culinary terms, tomato is regarded as a vegetable, its fruit is classified botanically as a berry. As a true fruit, it develops from the ovary of the plant after fertilization, its flesh comprising the pericarp walls. For propagation, the seeds need to come from a mature fruit, and must be lightly fermented to remove the gelatinous outer coating and then dried before use. In 1768, Philip Miller moved it to its own genus, naming it Lycopersicon esculentum. Genetic evidence has now shown that Linnaeus was correct to put the tomato in the genus Solanum, making Solanum lycopersicum the correct name.

Both names, however, will probably be found in the literature for some time. An international consortium of researchers from 10 countries, began sequencing the tomato genome in 2004. A prerelease version of the genome was made available in December 2009. Since many other fruits, like strawberries, apples, melons, and bananas share the same characteristics and genes, researchers stated the published genome could help to improve food quality, food security and reduce costs of all of these fruits.

The first commercially available genetically modified food was a tomato called Flavr Savr, which was engineered to have a longer shelf life. However, it is no longer commercially available. This section does not cite any sources. The Tomato Genetic Resource Center, Germplasm Resources Information Network, AVRDC, and numerous seed banks around the world store seed representing genetic variations of value to modern agriculture. Tomatoes are considered a fruit or vegetable depending on context. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, tomatoes are a fruit labeled in grocery stores as a vegetable due to their taste and culinary purposes. Botanically, a tomato is a fruit—a berry, consisting of the ovary, together with its seeds, of a flowering plant.

The confusion on whether tomatoes are fruits or vegetables has led to legal dispute in the United States. Page from the En Tibi Herbarium, 1558. The wild ancestor of the tomato, Solanum pimpinellifolium, is native to western South America. These wild versions were the size of peas. 500 BC, it was already being cultivated in southern Mexico and probably other areas. The Pueblo people are thought to have believed that those who witnessed the ingestion of tomato seeds were blessed with powers of divination.