Rick, C. M.
Seeds of this accession (LA292) were received recently from Mr. Alf Kastdalen, who had collected them from a single plant growing along a trail above the settlement at Academy Bay, Indefatigable Island. Unlike the material previously obtained, this accession has red oblate fruits, 1.5-2.5 cm. in diameter with 2-4 locules, tending to become irregular with increasing locule number. Also in contrast with the other accessions, it grows well in the field and produces seeds of normal size which germinate satisfactorily without special treatment. Flowers self-pollinate well without aid except in the greenhouse, and all cultures have been very uniform. An unusual feature of LA292 is the complete absence of the large epidermal hairs characteristic of H and the complete or nearly complete lack of tomato odor in the herbage. A search of herbarium material reveals that a specimen collected by Howell (#8573) at Wreck Bay, Chatham Island, April 17, 1932, corresponds fairly well with LA292.
The following points hint that LA292 might have escaped fron cultivation instead of being an indigenous type: (1) the presence of this form apparently only close to human habitation, (2) the many differences between it and the other Galapagos tomatoes. Support for this proposal also comes from the fact that the most widely cultivated tomato of the Ecuadorean coast has the same lack of hairs and odor. I have not encountered any coastal tomato, however, with such small fruits, the typical ones being very large and severely fasciated. It is entirely possible, of course, that LA292 might have been derived from hybridization between the large-fruited coastal type and the coastal L. pimpinellifclium or some other tiny-fruited tomato.