958 



LYCOPERSICUM 



LYCOPODIUM 



1337. The Currant Tomato.— 

 Lycopersicum pimpinellifolium. 



tion for their fruits. Fls. small, yellow, 

 (3 nearly rotate when in full bloom, in short 

 superaxillary racemes; stap.iens 5, coDiiate 

 about the siugle style : ovary 2-loculed in 

 the nou-anieliorated forms, becoming a 

 fleshy, many-seeded berry: foUEige irregu- 

 larly or interruptedly pinnate, rank-smell- 

 ing: plant usually pubescent, straggling. 

 In native conditions, Teiiuitoes are proh;iI)iy perennial, 

 but in domestication they are treated as if annual. Ten- 

 der to frost. See To)H<i/i>. 



escul6ntum, Mill. Common Tomato. Fig. 1:J34. Plant 

 spreading, with grayish green, mostly couduplicate 

 ("curled") leaves and slender, ascending shoots ; Ivs. 

 pinnate, with small, nearly entire leaflets interposed, the 

 main leaflets notched or even lobed towards the base: 

 fls. in a short raceme of 4-G: fr. medium to small, flat- 

 tened endwise and furrowed on the sides. — In cultiva- 

 tion for more than ,S0O years. Two hundred years ai,^o 

 red and yellow varieties were known. The great (.-volu- 

 tion of the Ton)uto did not take place until this century, 

 giving rise to the garden race. 



Var.vulg^re, Bailey. Fig. i;^.3G, No. 2. Tliis is the com- 

 mon garden Tomato of North America, distinguished 

 by very heavy growth, greener foliage, much larger 

 and plane Ivs., the comparative absence of stiffish as- 

 cending shoots (in the mature plant), few fls., and 

 larger, "smoother" (i. e., not furrowed} fr., which has 

 numerous locules or cells. — There is every reason for 

 believing that the original Tomato had a 2-loculed 

 (2-celle<i) fruit, but the course of amelioration has mul- 

 tiplied the locules; it has also modifled the foliaee and 

 the stature of the plant (see "Survival of the Unlike." 

 Essays 4 and 30). 



Var. cerasif6rme, ITort. (//. rcra.sifoDne, Dunal). 

 Cherry Tomato. Still grown for its little gloliular frts 



(in red and yellow), which are often 2-locule(l : 

 plant less large and dense-foliaged, the 1\ s. 

 smaller, grayer: growth more erect. — Probaljly 

 a very close approach to the wild plant. Fruits 

 used for pickles and conserves. 



Var. pyrif6rme, Hort. {1/. pijriforme, Dunal). 

 Pear and I-'lum Tomato. Differs from the last 

 only in having pear-shaped or oldong fruits.— 

 Probably occurs wild in very nearly the form seen 

 in old gardens. 



Var. vilidum, Bailey. Upright Tomato. Fitr. 

 1335. A remarkable cultural form, of low, stiff, 

 erect growtii, and small, condensed, curled Ivs.— 

 Originated as a chance seedling in France about 

 50 years ago. Looks like a potato plant. 



Var. grandi£dlium, Bailey. Large-leaf Tomato. 

 Lvs. very large, plane, the Ifts. few (about 2 

 pairs) and large, with margins entire or very 

 nearly so, and secondary Ifts. usually none. — Of seedl- 

 ing origin about 30 years ago. The JMikado and Potato 

 Leaf are the leading varieties at present. In very 

 young plants, the leaves are usually entire. This race 

 iias produced crosses of commercial value with var. vul- 

 tlitre. In Fig. 133i>, No. 2 is a leaf of var. viiU/are, No. 1 

 is var. (frandifo/iuni , and No. 3 is a leaf of a hand-made 

 cross betw^een the two. 



pimpinellifdlium, Dunal {L. racemlgerunt and rncerni- 

 f or/He, Lange. /SoIuuiiih ra r f ih if Id ru hi ,y Urn ., not Dunal ] . 

 Currant Tomato. Fig. 1337. Plant weaker, very dif- 

 fuse and twiggy, scarcely pubescent : lvs. with small. 

 ovate, nearly entire Ifts., and very small secondary Ifts. : 

 racemes elongating, distichous, bearing 10-40 small, 

 currant-like, red berries. S. Amer.— Grown as a 

 curiosity and for ornament. The plant makes an escid- 

 lent summer cover for brush or rubbish piles. The fruits 

 are edible, but are too small fur domestic use. How- 

 ever, it has been introduced as a garden vegetable under 

 the name of German Raisin Tomato. It hybridizes wish 

 L. fscuh'xtum. (see Fig. 1338). 



The other species of Lycopersicum are unknown in 

 cult. Some of them are very like aboriginal forms of 

 L. esriilcu/inH , and it is doubtful whether they are suf- 

 liciently distinct to be worth keeping as species. Pic- 

 tures of other Lycopersicums will be found in Essay 4, 

 "Survival of the Unlike." l H. B. 



LYCOPODIUM { Greek. iroU-foof ) . Li/ropofUdcr-r. 

 Clib-moss. Gkouxij-pine. Running-pine. A genus of 

 fern allies, with erect or trailing stems, narrow lvs., 

 arranged in 4 to many ranks, and bearing spores in 

 sporangia, located either in the axils of ordinary lvs. 

 (Fig. 1339) or in the axils of modifled lvs. clustered in 

 spikes (Fig. 1340). About 300 species are known. Com- 

 nmnly iised for holiday decorations. The spores of 

 some species form the officinal Lycopodium powder. 

 The plants which florists grow as Lycopodiums are 

 Selaginellas (which see). 



A. J^rs. ui"in/-r(( Hlivd . 

 li. Sporaiujiii ill the crZ/.s- of nnitlicrtd Ivs. 



Sel^go, Linn. Stems erect, .3-9 in. long, dichot- 

 omously branched : lvs. ascending, hollow at base, 

 glossy green, not reflexed. Northern hemisphere, usu- 

 ally in high altitudes. 



lucidulum, Michx., is more common in lowlands, and 

 has Ivs. wide in the middle and erose. 



squarrdsum, Forst. Stems pendulous, 1-2 ft. long, 2-3 

 times dichotomously branched: ivs. firm, dark green, 

 spreading, K-'K in- long: sporangia in the axils of re- 

 duced lvs., forming a spike. East Indies. 



BB. Sporaiif/iii a!/(i)-e(/ah'd in icrminal f>pi}ces. 

 c. iSh')/i!^ pcmJuIous: Ivs. acute. 

 Phlegmaria, Linn. Stems ^4-2 ft. long, dichoto- 

 mously forked ; lvs. ^.2-'K in. long, ovate: spikes copious, 

 lax. 3-0 in. or ntore long. Tropics of Old World. 



00. Stems erect, tree-form. 

 c^rnuum, Linn. Stems erect, reaching 3-4 ft., co- 

 picuisly l)ranched : ! vs. crowded, linear; spikes sessile. 

 /^-/-i n. lontr, curved downward. Tropics of both hemi- 

 spheres, occasionally iu our gulf states. 



