Species

Solanum lycopersicum

Etymology

Solanum: Derivation uncertain - possibly from the Latin word sol, meaning "sun," referring to its status as a plant of the sun. Another possibility is that the root was solare, meaning "to soothe," or solamen, meaning "a comfort," which would refer to the soothing effects of the plant upon ingestion.

Common Name(s)

tomato

Authority

Solanum lycopersicum L.

Family

Solanaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Exotic

NVS Species Code

SOLLYC

The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Herbs other than Composites

Flower Colours

Yellow

Year Naturalised

1864

Origin

Andes, possibly north towards Mexico

This page last updated on 27 May 2010