Tomatoes and other matters

Having had rather a large lunch the other day, I went for grilled tomatoes for tea, some of which are snapped above. Towards the end of this snack, it occurred to me that the number of seed compartments - compartments which are variously called locules, placentae and carpels - varied from tomato to tomato, unlike, for example, the number of petals which is fairly stable across the flowers of a given species.

So in the snap above, maybe three locules left and two top. Best seen by cutting the tomatoes across the middle, as here, but before they are cooked.

I realised this morning, rather too late, that these tomatoes had come from two batches, with one from one and four from the other. In any event, I would try to get to the bottom of the matter.

After various preliminaries, including the helpful diagram above, in which line b looks rather tomato-like to me, I got to references 1 and 2. 

I learn that, perhaps because tomatoes are an important crop in many parts of the world, perhaps because they are good experimental subjects, they have been extensively studied. There is lots of stuff about them out there. I was also reminded of reference 3.

I had thought that reference 2 was going to offer some statistics about locules and we were told that one counted the locules on twenty tomatoes on a plant and took the average. So there must be plenty of variation. But it turned out that while the paper was open access, the supplementary material which might have included more statistics was behind a paywall. Which is unusual, with my experience being that it is more likely to be the other way around.

After a bit, I was able to try Gemini with the summary snapped above. He agreed and elaborated. I think I had got it near enough right for present purposes. With the basic, wild-type number being two, but ranging up to ten and more.

I remember asking him about the number of segments on an orange and whether this had any relation to the number of petals. He was firm that it did not, which I found puzzling at the time. Today, between us, we are unable to recover this conversation, perhaps it did not get saved for some reason, but he now tells me that the segments of an orange are analogues to the locules of a tomato and I am getting used to the idea of their being more than one genetic numbering system operating on the meristem where all this stuff is laid down.

That said, it seems to be the case that locule number varies a lot more than petal number. Maybe something to look into one day...

The lost conversation was noticed at reference 4, so memory correct as far as that goes.

Will I start to keep count of my grilled tomatoes?

Apples

Starting to read the Mauriac book noticed at reference 5, I came across the phrase 'comme les prunelles de ses yeux', more or less our 'it was the apple of his eye'. Except that a prunelle is a sloe rather than an apple, and I imagine that the French phrase is tied up with the fact that prunelle is also a pupil, as in eye. One does not want to become separated from one's pupils, one looks after them, one treasures them. I think that there is a technical term for this sort of mistranslation of an idiomatic expression, but I have not bothered to look it up - possibly arising with me from the interaction of Yiddish with Hebrew.

There is also the point that a blue iris might well remind one of a sloe with a stone in the middle.

Also known as the blackthorn or Prunus spinosa, for which see reference 6.

There is also the matter of Maigret, whose sister-in-law from Alsace regularly sends the Maigrets a bottle of home-brew prunelle, which he keeps in the sideboard for special occasions. Presumably the proper liqueur, rather than our sloe gin. Something which we did once and did not bother with again. Bing knows all about the stuff.

Pork lite

Yesterday, despite having had a substantial lunch, I needed something warming for tea, and decided on a vegetarian lentil.

Stream 1: 6oz of lentils in maybe two and a half pints of water. Washed a couple of times. Boiled for a bit, added some celery, simmered. Towards the end, added some left over mashed potato and a stump of chou pointu.

Stream 2: in order of presentation: butter, black pepper, garlic, onions, coarsely diced potato (raw).

Combined just before the off. Not much like soup, but warm, wet and satisfying. No dead flies to be seen. Which was what I was looking for.

A newly manufactured loom band visible right. Bing knows all about them too.

PS: I noticed just today that the organisation of courgettes is rather similar to that of tomatoes, albeit more strongly axial. There also appear to be what look like growth rings in the outermost pale layer before the dark skin, perhaps the pericarp. I have not pursued this one.

References

Reference 1: Tomato fruit development and metabolism - Quinet, M.; Angosto, T.; Yuste-Lisbona, F.J.; Blanchard-Gros, R.; Bigot, S.; Martinez, J.P.; Lutts, S. – 2019. 

Reference 2: Increase in tomato locule number is controlled by two single-nucleotide polymorphisms located near WUSCHEL – Muños, S., Ranc, N., Botton, E., Bérard, A., Rolland, S., Duffé, P., et al. – 2011. 

Reference 3: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2025/10/an-extra-wisley.html. Another recent outing for a member of the solanum familty: the prickly solanum at Wisley.

Reference 4: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2024/05/outgroups.html.

Reference 5: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2025/10/french-affairs.html.

Reference 6: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prunus_spinosa.

Group search key: botanicsk.