I have a tub of spuds in my veg' plot growing quite close to my tomatos. The spuds and the toms are doing fine. The spuds however, have put out a vine of tomatos that have not turned red. Having cut one down the middle, it has the consistancy of a spud. Why is this?
2006-09-08 23:08:25 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Botany
they are called potato apples and i was once informed they were poisonous
2006-09-08 23:10:28 · answer #1 · answered by Jane S 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Tomatoes and potatoes are from the same plant family, the Solanaceae (as is aubergine). This family has about 38 surviving members, most of which are poisonous tropical plants. Interestingly potatoes are fairly poisonous themselves - if you eat them raw they will prevent you from digesting proteins for a few hours! They also have some other poisonous properties that we tolerate because our stomachs build up resistance to them.
Your potato plant has fruited and its fruit look like tomatoes because it is related, but these are not tomatoes - don't eat them!!! Its consistency is not related to the consistency of a potato, or tomato, and it will probably change on ripening.
2006-09-11 10:13:54 · answer #2 · answered by Cathy :) 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
These are the fruits of the potato plants (we eat the roots, of course). They look like tomatoes, as they are close relatives
(tomatoes and potatoes are from the family solanaceae, genus Solanum; the tomato is species s. lycopersicum, while the potato is species s. tuberosum). The fruits of the potato vine are highly toxic; this is one of the reasons that people thought for many years that tomatoes were also toxic.
2006-09-09 06:21:17 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 1⤋
Cross breeding spuds!
2006-09-09 06:24:39 · answer #4 · answered by the man at your window 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Potatoes and tomatoes belong to the same family , the nightshades.Hence the similarities The fruits you see are poisonous, don't even think about eating them.
2006-09-10 15:49:05 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
this is not a tomarto this is a potato frut - tomartos and potatos belong to the same family as well as deadly nightshade and woodlynightshade - the fruts of the potato family tend to be posinous but what this does mean it you could now grow a potato from seed and end up with a new verierty that you might beable to sell for a lot of money if your luckly.
2006-09-11 11:07:57 · answer #6 · answered by Cambridge Carnivorous Plants 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They're the 'fruit' of the spud plant which carry the seeds. Cut them off - you don't need them and they are poisonous.
2006-09-09 06:19:53 · answer #7 · answered by Autumn Breeze 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
they both belong to the large genus "solanum" and its not uncommon for one plant to bear two different types of fruit.
Tomato=solanum lucopersium
Potato= Solanum tuberosum
eggplant=solanum melongena
This genus also includes poisonous plants such as the nightshade,even green tubers and green shoots of the potato if eaten can cause hypothermia (lowering of the body temperature),paralysis and shock
2006-09-11 04:44:37 · answer #8 · answered by bryte 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I would leave em alone and see how big they get, or how they might change
Is it a first-year garden? Youre not supposed to eat anything from a first-year garden . . .my parents had one this year with very big zucchinis, about 17 inches! Old Test. says dont eat first fruits; I tried one of the zucchinis and it just didnt feel right
2006-09-09 06:35:02 · answer #9 · answered by isis 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
yeh Broad is right even the potatoe can cause problems as well as many others in this family which is spread through out the world
2006-09-12 01:55:36 · answer #10 · answered by braw 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Cross splicing could be a good answer, but I doubt you have such a plant.
2006-09-09 06:11:43 · answer #11 · answered by Teacher 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋