Solanum lycopersicum

Previously placed in Lycopersicon which is distinguished from Solanum based on the anthers with elongate sterile appendages (Purdie et al. 1982). However, phylogenetic analyses of DNA data have shown Lycopersicon to belong to the same lineage that includes potato within Solanum, hence supporting its inclusion in Solanum (Spooner et al. 1993; Bohs 2005).

The description provided encompasses wild tomato plants in Australia. Cultivars of tomatoes grown commercially and in private gardens can differ substantially from the morphology of wild plants. Most differences are associated with the fruit including the colour which may not be red at maturity, the shape and the size (cultivated tomato fruit is usually 5–10 cm diam.). Cultivated tomatoes also have 6–9 corolla lobes (rather than 5), multilocular ovaries (rather than being 2-locular) and tend to be larger leaved (Symon 1981). Feral tomatoes revert to the wild type morphology (Symon 1981).