"Cereus-validus" wrote in
:

Actually all the Lycopersicon species are native to South America but
the large fruited cultivars were developed in cultivation by the
Aztecs of Mexico in Pre-Columbian times.

Right ... depending on what you want to include when you say 'tomato'.
If you read further down on the previously cited link -
http://lamar.colostate.edu/~samcox/Tomato.html
it points to the Andes as the origin of Lycopersicon, based on a theory
by Vavilov. However later it gives Central America (as you say, still
technically in North America) as the origin of the first _domesticated_
tomatoes which upon further refining elsewhere gave rise to the
cultivated varieties that we all know and love.

(Probably the Spanish later changed the name from 'tomodedo' to 'tomate'
for the same reason as the English ... nobody wanted to think about algae
covered toes in their salsa. yeah, that's the ticket!)

"Paulo" wrote in message
...
Well, i was looking into this subject.....Tomatoes are not coming
form South America, in fact they are from North America, Mexico
exaclty (Technically North America). In nahuatl (aztec language) this
fruit is called tomatl....than in spanish tomate...and english
tomatoe....