A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2007 Tomato Leaves Poisonous?

Am I the only one who didn't know this? I was reading a book called 'American tomato' and it mentions that 2 ounces of tomato leaves can kill an adult! I knew they were in the nightshade family--but had no clue they were poisonous!

Side note FYI, did you know that tomatoes are an America native? I thought they grew in Italy or Spain originally, because, geez, those cultures really embrace the mighty tomato. Also, the Puritans (who settled America originally) thought that the tomato was an aphrodisiac (because of it's sexy shape) and therefore a forbidden fruit?

And here I thought tomatoes had a boring history!

They are native to South America Sarah. I think that info about 2 oz killing an adult is a little over-blown. Who's the author? If you want good tomato reading, check out "100 tomatoes for the american garden" by Carolyn Male or "Livingston and the Tomato" by Andrew Smith.

It's called American Tomato, the complete guide to growing and using tomatoes by Robert Hendrickson. I'll have to see if the library carries the ones you mentioned, John. I'm so glad they have their book catalog online now.

Yeah, mine does now to and you can even reserve copies online too.

Isn't technology great? My library doesn't have those books, so I'll head in to put in an interlibrary loan. Thanks for the recommendations. I'm an avid reader and really enjoy gathering information or just passing the time until my ground gets warm.

I didn't know that either! But, who eats the leaves anyway?
joyce