Lycopersicon peruvianum

At a glance

Lifecycle: Annual
Exposure: Full sun

Cultivation

Requires a rich well-drained soil in a sunny position. Plants are not frost-hardy. They can be grown outdoors in Britain as a spring-sown annual started off under glass in the spring. In cool wet summers the total yields are likely to be low[K]. This species does not hybridize with L. esculentum.

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a warm greenhouse. Germination is usually quick and good. Pot up the seedlings into individual pots of fairly rich compost as soon as the first true leaf appears and plant them out after the last expected frosts. Seed can also be sown in situ under a cloche at the end of April, though in a cool summer the results may be disappointing. The seedcoat may carry tomato mosaic virus. However, by sowing the seed 15mm deep the seedcoat will remain below the soil surface when the seed germinates and the disease will be inactivated.

Edible uses

Fruit - raw or cooked.

Habitat

Western slopes of the Andes below 2900 metres.

Native range

Western S. America