Warning: my neighbor's tomato plants are actually a different species

I was helping him in his garden in Austin last weekend and noticed his 'tomatoes' looked off. I looked it up in my old plant guide and found out they're a wild nightshade called Solanum pimpinellifolium, the currant tomato. It says they're a direct ancestor to the tomatoes we eat now. I had no idea you could even buy seeds for that. Has anyone else grown these ancestor plants before?

3 comments

3 Comments

charles_young922mo ago

My buddy in Tucson grew those from seed last year. The fruit was tiny but packed a crazy strong tomato flavor.

the_piper2mo ago

My friend's tiny tomatoes, like @charles_young92 said, were so strong they made her eyes water from the flavor.

davidkim2mo ago

Wonder if the heat stress in Tucson actually concentrates the flavor instead of just shrinking the fruit.