The Probert Encyclopaedia of Nature

TOMATO

The tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum) is a South American annual plant of the family Solanaceae. It produces a round red fruit which is treated like a vegetable.
The tomato was introduced into Britain around 1696, and was originally grown in greenhouses as a decorative climbing plant on account of its red and yellow berries, as they were then termed. The tomato was not eaten at first, on account of the many toxic varieties of related plant which were known.
Research Tomato