Jay.Jarosz · CC BY-SA 4.0
About
The cherry tomato, botanically recognized as *Solanum lycopersicum* var. cerasiforme, is a popular horticultural variety prized for its small, often round or oblong fruits. It is believed to be a genetic admixture between wild currant-type tomatoes and domesticated garden tomatoes, offering a range of colors from red to yellow, orange, and black.
Field notes
Morphology
Cherry tomatoes range in size from a thumbtip up to the size of a golf ball, and can range from spherical to slightly oblong in shape. Colors include red, orange, yellow, green, purple, and black.
Distribution & habitat
Wild ancestors are native to western South America, particularly the Andes region and coastal areas of Peru, Ecuador, and northern Chile. The domesticated form originated in the Puebla-Veracruz region of Mexico.
Cultivation notes
The species has been widely cultivated, with modern breeding efforts focusing on developing cultivars with extended shelf life, disease resistance, and specific flavor profiles for commercial packaging and transport.
History & etymology
The first direct reference to cherry tomatoes in European literature appeared in 1623 in Caspar Bauhin's Pinax theatri botanici, where a variety was described as Solanum racemosum cerasorum forma. The species is regarded as a botanical variety of the cultivated berry, *Solanum lycopersicum* var. cerasiforme.
Habitat
- Altitude
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- Altitude Class
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Cultivation
- Difficulty
- intermediate
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