Scientific Name:
Solanum lycopersicum
Pronunciation:
so-LAY-num lye-koe-PUR-sih-kon
Common Name:
tomato
Family Name:
Solanaceae
Plant Type:
Annual (grown as), Greenhouse produce plant
Key ID Features:
Leaves alternate, 10-30cm long x 8-18cm wide, pinnately compound, leaflets 5-9, variable sizes, most 2-10cm long x 1-6cm wide and irregularly lobed, pubescent-fuzzy, tomato smell when crushed; flowers yellow, ~1cm wide, in raceme-like cymes; berries commonly red, 2-10cm wide.
Habit:
Upright
Form:
Climbing
Texture:
Coarse
Mature Height:
2 - 3m
Mature Spread:
1.5 - 2.0m
Origin:
South America
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 2: (-46 to -40 °C)
Exposure:
Full sun
Soil/Growing Medium:
Well-drained
Water Use:
High
Landscape Uses:
Bedding plant, Herb, Urban agriculture
Additional Info:
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Compound
Arrangement:
Alternate
Texture/Venation:
Soft flexible
Surfaces:
Pubescent, Glandular hairs, Distinctive smell
Compound Leaf:
Odd-pinnate
Shapes:
Ovate
Apices:
Acute
Bases:
Auriculate
Margins:
Pinnately lobed, Serrate
Inflorescence Type:
Cyme, Panicle-like
Flower Morphology:
Flowers perfect
Number Of Petals:
5
Corolla Shape:
Rotate/stellate
Ovary Position:
Superior
Colour (petals):
Yellow
Flower Time at Peak:
Jul, Aug, Sep
Additional Info:
Varieties or hybrids with up to 8 petals exist
Fruit Type:
Berry (true), Edible
Fruit Colour:
Yellow, Blue, Red (e.g. L. 'OSU Blue', L. 'Yellow Pear')
Fruiting Time:
Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct
Additional Info:
Showy, Edible
Bark Morphology:
Lightly fissured
Bark or Stem Colour:
Green, Brown
Additional Info:
long trichomes if still all green
Propagation:
Seed, Grafting
Optimal Temp.:
High
Light Level:
High
Maintenance:
High
Pest Susceptibility:
Abiotic disorder, Anthracnose, Aphids, Bacterial leaf spot, Beetles or weevils, Blight or needle cast, Caterpillar or cutworm, Fungal leaf spot, Leaf miner insect, Mites, Mold, Nematodes, Root rot, Thrips, Virus, Whitefly, Wilt (Rabbit resistant)
Specific Pests:
Hornworms, Fruitworms, Stinkbugs, Colorado potato beetles, Flea beetles, Cutworms, Early and late blight, Fusarium wilt, Verticillium wilt, and various abiotic disorders such as Blossom end rot or catfacing, Blossom drop, Leaf roll, Sunscald.
