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Wild relatives
The tomato belongs to the same
genus as the potato Solanum (Solanaceae) and potatoes and tomatoes are closely related. Solanum contains some 2000 species, most of which are found in the Neotropics. The group to which the cultivated tomato belongs is made up of about 15 species, all of which are native to the western coasts of South America, mostly in dry areas. All the members of this group have bright yellow flowers, and many have the
sterile 'beak' on the anthers, the characteristic that has led many botanists to classify the tomatoes as a separate
genus, Lycopersicon. The wild tomatoes can be split into two main groups - those with green or whitish fruits and those with coloured fruits. The cultivated tomato belongs to this second group, sometimes called section Lycopersicon, along with the following species:
- Solanum pimpinellifolium L. (currant tomato) is native to the coasts of western South America. This species has tiny red fruits and less divided leaves than S. lycopersicum.
- Solanum cheesmaniae (L. Riley) Fosberg and Solanum galapagense S.Darwin & Peralta (Galapagos tomatoes). These species are endemic to the Galapagos Islands. They differ from the cultivated tomatoes in their bright orange fruits and generally smaller proportions. These species are not cultivated even on the Galapagos, but have been the source of germplasm conferring drought and salt tolerance to the cultivated tomato.
Most of the other species of wild tomatoes are widely used in plant breeding to introduce desirable characteristics to cultivated populations, and many wild species have contributed genetic material to the tomatoes that we grow in our gardens today.
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