The tomato, Lycopersicum esculentum, is another gift from tropical Mexico and Central America, developed by the skill of red men of long ago. The name tomato is a corruption of the Nahuatl name, tomatl. For centuries the tomato was appreciated only in the tropics. Until about 1850 the people in most parts of the United States called it poisonous, but sometimes grew it as a curiosity under the name of love apple. It is now cultivated in tropical and warm temperate regions all over the world. In the United States tens of thousands of acres are devoted to its culture, while it is canned in enormous quantities. In most parts of the African, Asiatic, and Pacific Ocean tropical regions tomatoes have escaped from cultivation and run wild. The fruit of these wild plants is small and of little value. At least two other species of tomato occur wild, and are also cultivated in Brazil and Peru.
The currant tomato, Lycopersicum pimpinellifolium, is native to Peru and Brazil. The small fruits grow in bunches,beats by dre studio hd. It was introduced into the United States under the name of grape or cluster tomato, and it is grown in warm countries in various parts of the world, but its culture is not of much consequence. Lycopersicum humboldti, a native of Brazil, is cultivated there. The fruit is smaller than the common tomato but has a fine flavor. Its cultivation has made little progress outside its native country. Several species of Capsicum, or red pepper, are cultivated, but only three are commonly grown. They are natives of tropical America, from the West Indies and Mexico, to Brazil and Chile, and were cultivated extensively in pre-Columbian times.
One of them, Capsicum annuum, must have been cultivated since most remote times, as it is not known in a wild state. It has diverged into a number of radically different varieties, which are considered species by many botanists. In some of its various forms it is now cultivated all over the United States, and everywhere in the tropics and warmer regions of the world. Several varieties have been developed and become important crops in various countries, as paprika in Hungary, and the small, thick-fleshed peppers, which are canned in Spain.
Some of the peppers, especially Capsicum frutescens, were carried to the Philippines by the Aztecs and soon became naturalized. The Portuguese took them to India, where they likewise escaped from cultivation. Capsicum frutescens now grows wild throughout the Philippines, the East Indies, New Guinea, the Solomons, the New Hebrides, India, and parts of Africa.
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