“Landmark Tomatoes” and their lineages
In my eyes, these form a kind of foundation upon which so many others are built. They mark certain characteristics that are particularly interesting to me. I’m sure everyone has a different set of landmark tomatoes, but these are mine.
Cherokee Purple
(saved pre 1890s, brought to public by Craig LeHoullier in 1993)
Derivative varieties:
(Cherokee Purple F4 x Black Cherry) that created Purple Haze F1 (Keith Mueller) —> Kiss the Sky (Tatiana Kouchnareva)
x unknown varieties —> Orange Caprese
(through Berkeley Tie-Dye x Purple Haze) —> Apricot Zebra (Mark McCaslin 2000s?)
Lucky Cross (and Little Lucky)
(Craig LeHoullier 1993/2002)( Brandywine x (Tigerella x Old German F1))
Derivative varieties:
x unknown —> Captain Lucky (Millard Murdock 2011)
Photo credit: Tom@TomatoFiFou
Green Zebra
(Tom Wagner 1983)
Derivative varieties:
x Cherokee Purple created Berkeley Tie-Dye (Brad Gates 2000s?)
—> Apricot Zebra (Mark McCaslin 2000s?)
— possibly in the parentage of BananaLegs—> striped roman —> maglia rosa —>green/pink/blush/lucky tigers
Photo credit: Experimental Farm Network
Berkeley Pink Tie-Dye
(Brad Gates 2000s?)
Created from a cross of Green Zebra (Tom Wagner 1983) x Cherokee Purple ->Berkeley Tie-Dye and then from a spontaneous mutation —> Berkeley Pink Tie-Dye
Photo credit: Tom@TomatoFiFou
Indigo Rose (and Midnight Roma etc.)
(Jim Myers 2011, 2021)
The innovation was to combine the Aft (Anthocyanin fruit gene) from Solanum chilense and the atv (atroviolaceae gene) from Solanum cheesemaniae, into one plant using traditional breeding methods. The resulting increased anthocyanin in the epidermis of the fruit creates a purplish or “blue” color. There are many varieties derived from these, some including stripes like the next landmark tomato.
Photo credit: Super Naturals Grafted Vegetables LLC
Rebel Starfighter Prime
(Russ Crowe 2018, from Xanadu Picasso x RHK GWR Heart)
This tomato is derived from a cross between Xanadu Picasso, which has anthocyanin and stripes and Reinhard Kraft’s Green When Ripe heart, which has an interesting gene that leaves portions still green including stripes on the skin, and also contributes to outstanding flavor. The leaves are wispy and people growing it for the first time may worry when comparing it to other plants that it is not thriving, but it will continue to grow in good conditions, however spindly it may look, and produce a bunch of these stellar tomatoes.
