Ah, once again! The tomato family.
The tomato family is a big one indeed, with nearly 4,000 species represented widely around the world, mostly in warm regions, but there are also plenty of species in the temperate zones. These species are represented by herbs and shrubs, and there are also various vine and tree forms.
What’s very important to remember, from a practical standpoint, of course, is that when botanists speak of the tomato family, it doesn’t mean that everything in the family is a tomato. Specifically, “tomato” is the species Lycopersicon esculentum. That’s just one of the nearly 4,000 species.
Such a big family, and an important one too. Various members are highly important for humans as important food sources. Tomato, obviously, but consider the economic and historic impact of the Irish potato (which originated in South America, not Ireland), also a member of the family.
Eggplant, chilis, tomatillos and edible peppers of various sorts are widely known, too.
Because the plant parts in many members of the tomato family are rich in alkaloids and a variety of other substances, there are a lot of poisonous members.
The deadly nightshades come to mind, along with the prickly Jimson weed.
Although many of these species are quite poisonous, they sometimes have offered a variety of useful medicines.
The tomato family, which includes tobacco, also features some really pretty flowers.
Petunias, anyone?
This week’s mystery plant is a native of Asia and Europe, now widely appearing in much of the northern U.S. It’s a viny herb with dark green, lobed leaves, and during the summer, will produce clusters of attractive violet flowers, these looking like purple versions of your tomato plant’s blossoms.
Toward the fall, the fruits begin to ripen, progressing from green to yellow, and then orange to a beautiful red. This transformation doesn’t happen all at once, so the plants often feature a variety of fruit colors at the same time.
Although this plant is pretty, it is something of a weed. And it has a reputation as being rather poisonous. The fruits have been used medicinally, to a limited extent, and they are said to have a sort of sweet and bitter flavor.
Latin for these two words, “dulcis” and “amarus,” gives us the species name. As always, though, it is usually a bad idea to be spot-tasting unusual or unknown plant parts, and it is not recommended here.
By the way, our mystery plant is also somewhat related to a different species, one in Europe called “bella-donna,” a plant that is very poisonous. One of its poisonous compounds is atropine, known medicinally as an effective dilator of one’s pupils.
Traditionally, high-society ladies in Renaissance Italy would apply drops of the plant’s juice into their eyes, making their pupils open up, thus becoming more beautiful. “Bella-donna,” of course, means “beautiful lady,” but don’t try this at home.
John Nelson is the curator of the A. C. Moore Herbarium at the University of South Carolina, in the Department of Biological Sciences. As a public service, the herbarium offers free plant identifications. For more information, visit www.herbarium.org, call 803-777-8196 or email nelson@sc.edu.
Answer: “Bittersweet,” Solanum dulcamara