Cherry tomato

For the 2008 South Korean film, see Cherry Tomato (film).
Cherry tomato
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Solanales
Family: Solanaceae
Genus: Solanum
Species: S. lycopersicum
Variety: cerasiforme
Trinomial name
Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme
(Dunal) D.M.Spooner, G.J.Anderson & R.K.Jansen[1]
Synonyms

Lycopersicon lycopersicum var. cerasiforme
Lycopersicon esculentum var. cerasiforme

A cherry tomato is a rounded, small fruited tomato thought to be an intermediate genetic admixture between wild currant-type tomatoes and domesticated garden tomatoes.[2] Cherry tomatoes range in size from a thumbtip up to the size of a golf ball, and can range from being spherical to slightly oblong in shape. Although usually red, yellow, green and black varieties also exist.[3] The more oblong ones often share characteristics with plum tomatoes, and are known as grape tomatoes. The berry tomato is regarded as a botanical variety of the cultivated berry, Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme.[4]

History

Unripe cherry tomatoes on the vine
Cherry tomatoes on the vine
Cherry tomatoes

Cherry tomatoes are believed to go as far back as Aztec Mexico in at least the 15th century CE (see Tomato).

The first tomatoes cultivated in Europe in the 16th century, were yellow cherry tomatoes.[5]

Cherry tomatoes have been popular in the United States since at least 1919.[6] Recipes using cherry tomatoes can be found in articles dating back to 1967.[7]

Cultivars

The Tomaccio tomato was developed by several laboratories in Israel, the dominant ones being those led by Professor Nahum Keidar and Professor Chaim Rabinovitch from the Agriculture Faculty of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot Campus. The Tomaccio is the result of a 12-year breeding program using wild Peruvian tomato species to create a sweet snack tomato with an improved ripening time and shelf life.[8][9]

The Super Sweet 100 is a hybrid cultivar popular in the United States. It is resistant to both Fusarium and Verticillium wilt.

The Selke Biodynamic cherry tomato is named after Margrit Selke.[10]

See also

References

Media related to Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme at Wikimedia Commons

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