Solanum pennellii  :

It is a very different species from other wild tomato species, it is the tomato which is phylogenetically closest to potatoes.

Solanum pennellii  has a range extending from northern Peru, mainly from Piura, to northern Chile, mainly in and around Tarapacá, in dry rocky places and sandy areas at from the sea and up to 3000m altitude.  

This perennial plant can reach around 1m high, with silvery green leaves and stems, covered with fine down.  

The stems which are very fragile and break at the slightest contact.  

The fruits are approximately 0.5 to 0.6 inches in diameter and fall when fully ripe.  

Flowers and fruits appear regularly throughout the year, but there is a notable increase in flowering between September and October.  

Be careful, this species is difficult to cultivate and make fruit in mild climates.

SPe#1 is a composite population resulting from the mixture of three accessions, cultivated together since their acquisition in 2021 an selectited for their earliness and yield.

Mix composed by:

• Solanum pennellii   LA1272, PI 365970:

This accession was collected in 1971, by Charles M. Rick, who established and directed the Tomato Genetic Resource Center (later renamed the CM Rick Tomato Genetic Resource Center) at Public University in Davis, California .  

Collection location: in the Hacienda Pisiquilla peach orchard, fundo Pisaquera, along the Pacaibamba road, 50 km east of Chancay, in the Lima department of Peru.

Indeterminate growth, from 90 to more than 120 days.

Acquired from HRSeeds, American collector of tomatoes and wild peppers.

• Solanum pennellii   “large-fruited”, acquired from Iwona Ziółkowska and Wojciech Maksymilian Szymański, Polish collectors of rare plants selling on eBay under the identifier: lupinaster.

• Solanum pennellii   “small-fruited”, both acquired from Iwona Ziółkowska and Wojciech Maksymilian Szymański, Polish collectors of rare plants selling on eBay under the identifier: lupinaster.