THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Tomato

Lisa Karen Miller

          Native to Central and South America (we think the first ones came from Peru), the tomato first reached European shores in the 16^th century. It arrived just in time for a continent-wide witch panic, with which, through no fault of its own, it became embroiled.

          Between 1300 and 1650, thousands of Europeans (most of them women) were burned, drowned, hanged, and crushed during the prolonged mass hysteria called the Witch Craze. University of Bristol professor Dr. Ronald Hutton’s conservative estimate is that between 35,184 and 63,850 were put to death – over 17,000 in Germany alone.

          At the time of the tomato’s entry on the scene, witch hunters were on the trail of the specific ingredients of witches’ flying ointments – whatever sticky stuff they spread on their broomsticks or themselves to render them capable of flying off to have congress with the devil.

          The key suspected ingredients were hemlock, nightshade, henbane, and mandrake, all already cursed with dark reputations.  The last three are close relatives of the tomato. Visually, the tomato plant is virtually identical to deadly nightshade.

          So the recent immigrant was found guilty by association, and thrown into the pokey with the other botanical criminals.  

          Whatever the stuff was, it was also reputedly capable of changing the witch or an innocent dupe into a werewolf. One of the common names of tomato became Wolf Peach.

Tomatoes contain lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that gives many fruits and vegetables their red color.  It has, you have already noticed, the same root as lycanthropy: “lykos” – wolf; “anthropos” – man.

          Even barber-surgeon John Gerard, in his 1597 “Herball,” declares the tomato “rank and stinking” and “corrupt.”

          The English brought their distrust of this innocent and health-giving plant to the New World.  The Pilgrims planted them as ornamentals only, much as we do some peppers.  They were pretty to look at, but not to be touched.

          In Mexico, the toxic green parts are used to deter cockroaches. Far from considering the fruit poison, Aztecs used the seeds as an aphrodisiac.  The French approved of such use, and gave it another nickname – Pomme d’Amour, or Love Apple.

          Tomatoes contain vitamins and minerals essential for preventing premature aging. The fruit pulp cleanses acne, refines pores, and restores the skin’s pH level. Homeopaths use the tomato to treat headaches and rheumatism.

          It’s hard to imagine the tomato as a diabolical criminal.  We are much more used to seeing sacks of home-grown Christian tomatoes in churches on Sunday mornings, waiting patiently to be exchanged after the service.

© Copyright 2023 Lisa Karen Miller