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Solanum cheesmaniae
Also called Galapagos Tomato, Galápagos Tomato
Solanum cheesmaniae is a wild perennial tomato native to the Galápagos Islands, often growing on rocky coastal sites. It is a close relative of the domestic tomato, and the key to growing it is warmth, full sun and well-drained soil.
Solanum cheesmaniae is one of two main species of wild tomatoes found on the Galápagos Islands. This species is the one most commonly called the Galapagos tomato. It is a wild tomato that evolved on the Galapagos Islands.
It often gets confused with the other native species, Solanum galapagense, which is similar but slightly different having more bushy smelly foliage and having smaller hairier orange fruits. It also gets confused with natural [Domestic tomato x S. cheesmaniae] hybrids and [Solanum pimpinellifolium x (S. cheesmaniae or S. galapagense)] hybrids because of introduction of domestic tomatoes to the Galapagos Islands, and the presence of Solanum pimpinellifolium on the islands and natural hybridization occurring between them.
The species occurs on the islands of Galapagos, 500 miles west of Ecuador. They grow in extremely wet, rocky areas from sea level to up to several hundred feet. The flowers and fruits appear consistently throughout the year, but there is a noticeable increase in flowering between September and October.
Dwarf Tamarillo · Solanum acaule · Sodaapple nightshade · Ethiopian nightshade · American black nightshade · Solanum arcanum · New Zealand nightshade · Solanum berthaultii · Tamarillo · Solanum brevicaule · Solanum cajanumense · Bitter Apple
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Solanum cheesmaniae by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
