Solanum galapagense
Origin: Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Improvement status: Wild
Seeds per packet: ~15
Germination tested 10/2024: 95%
Life cycle: Annual
This is a rare wild species of tomato that is mostly found growing by the seashore in the Galapagos Islands in the eastern Pacific, though it's also found growing further inland on the volcanic slopes of the islands of Fernandina and Isabela. The other tomato species endemic to the Galapagos Islands — Solanum cheesemaniae, with slightly larger and less hairy fruit — is more commonly known as "Galapagos Tomato," so since this one has no commonly accepted English name we're calling it "Wild Galapagos Tomato" (even though both grow wild there). These seeds from from a population selected by our friend Joseph Lofthouse of Paradise, Utah, for germination without heroic seed treatments and for the ability to mature fruits in a short-season mountain ecosystem. It seems Joseph's are less hairy than the wild ones (see photos). Produces tasty currant-sized orange fruits.
NOTE: The second photo is of a wild plant in the Galapagos. It is from Kevin Gepford and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 license.
GROWING TIPS: Grow as any other tomato. Plants are quite sprawling so will benefit from a trellis or diligent staking.
