CHARLES DARWIN’S TOMATO

ON THE ORIGIN OF A RARE SPECIES OF SOLANACEAE, A TOUGH AND TASTY GIFT TO BREEDERS FROM THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS

Words Jennifer Stackhouse

Growers and breeders are very interested in an unusual species of tomato because of its resistance to disease, its imperviousness to humid climates and, not least, its round shape. The species, Solanum cheesmaniae, is long bearing with small round orange fruit and grows wild on the Galapagos Islands, an archipelago off the coast of Ecuador. This is of course the island group visited by Charles Darwin on his epic five-year voyage on The Beagle. His studies of finches on the Galapagos led him to develop his theory of evolution. Darwin collected specimens of the tomato during his visit to Chatham Island in 1835. The pressed herbarium specimens are held by London’s Kew Herbarium and show foliage and fruit. Interestingly, Sarah Darwin, who continues her great-grandfather’s work as a botanist, wrote her PhD thesis on…

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Good Organic Gardening (Digital) - 1 Issue, 15.2

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