A tree tomato grows on a small woody tree, not a vine. The fruit is not a tomato at all. The plant is Solanum betaceum, a South American cousin of the tomato in the same nightshade family.
New Zealand growers renamed it tamarillo in the 1970s. The goal was simple. Shoppers needed to stop expecting the flavor of the vegetable it resembles.
The two plants share a family, not a species. That single fact explains most of the confusion.
The fruit looks like an oversized, egg shaped tomato. The plant is frost tender the same way. It still tastes nothing like one.
This guide covers what tamarillo actually is, what it tastes like, and whether it can be grown outside a tropical greenhouse.
The short version
A tree tomato, or tamarillo, is the fruit of Solanum betaceum. It is native to the Andes of Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia. The tree itself reaches 10 to 18 feet, not a vine like a garden tomato.
The fruit ranges from deep purple to red, orange, or yellow. Its skin is tough and its flavor sits closer to a mild, underripe tomato than a sweet fruit. It needs subtropical conditions above 50 degrees Fahrenheit, which limits where it survives outdoors in the United States.
What tamarillo actually is
Botanically, this fruit is Solanum betaceum, once classified as Cyphomandra betacea. It belongs to Solanaceae, the nightshade family that also holds the tomato, potato, eggplant, and pepper.
The tree is small, half woody, and fast growing, with shallow roots. It typically reaches 10 to 18 feet tall.
Its evergreen leaves are heart shaped and can grow more than a foot long. Flowers are pale pink or lavender, under an inch wide.
The fruit itself is egg shaped with a pointed tip, running 2 to 4 inches long. Skin color depends on the strain.
Deep purple and blood red types are most common. Orange and yellow forms exist too, and growers in New Zealand and South America often rate them sweeter.
The name has a marketing history behind it. New Zealand exporters coined tamarillo around 1970. They wanted distance from the word tomato so buyers would judge the fruit on its own terms.
What it tastes like, and how people eat it
The classic description in the horticultural literature is blunt: a mild or underripe tomato with a faintly resinous aftertaste. The pulp is soft and juicy. Depending on the strain and ripeness, it runs from subacid to genuinely sweet.
Yellow fruited types are generally rated best for preserving, thanks to a more delicate flavor. Red and purple types are the standard fresh eating fruit across South America and New Zealand.
Preparation usually starts with peeling, since the skin is tough and mildly bitter. Growers cover the fruit in boiling water and let it stand about 4 minutes. Then they peel from the stem end, much like blanching a tomato for canning.
Cooks use tamarillo in chutneys, jams, pies, and savory sauces. The fruit is high enough in pectin that jelly sets easily on its own. One home preserver working with a small yellow strain called the raw fruit yummy, though slightly bitter.
Her first jam batch came out far too bitter. Extra lemon juice and salt fixed the balance on the second try.
Can you grow one in the United States
A tree tomato needs subtropical, frost free conditions to thrive long term. It performs best above 50 degrees Fahrenheit. A hard frost at 28 degrees will kill small branches and foliage on an established tree, even if the main trunk survives.
That narrows reliable outdoor growing to the mildest parts of California, Hawaii, and the Gulf Coast. Everywhere else, it is a container or greenhouse plant. The tree also demands fertile, light soil with excellent drainage, since standing water around its shallow roots can kill it within days.
Where conditions suit it, growth is fast. Gardeners in Hawaii have reported trees reaching 4 to 9 feet within nine months of planting seed. One San Francisco grower described a plant reaching 13 feet in eight months, comparing its vigor and water needs to a Brugmansia.
Fruiting starts at 1.5 to 2 years of age. A well kept tree stays productive for roughly 5 to 6 years, sometimes longer with strong nutrition. One Australian grower called the plant quite short lived, noting yields decline and branches die back after 6 to 8 years.
Cuttings from a healthy plant are the usual way to start a replacement once that decline sets in.
The problems that come with it
Compared to a garden tomato, tamarillo is considered fairly pest resistant. It is not trouble free, though. Multiple home growers describe it as an aphid magnet, and whiteflies show up on stressed plants too.
The documented pest list includes fruit flies and a moth called the tree tomato worm. Both cause real losses in South America and the Caribbean. Occasional looper caterpillars also target young nursery plants.
Powdery mildew is the main disease risk, and it can cause serious leaf loss in humid conditions. A few viral diseases, including mosaic viruses and a lethal condition growers call bootlace virus, can force removal of an infected tree entirely.
The shallow root system carries its own risk. It leaves the tree prone to tipping in wind and vulnerable to damage from any standing water.
Frequently asked questions
Is a tree tomato the same as a regular tomato?
No. It is Solanum betaceum, a different species in the same nightshade family as the garden tomato.
It grows on a small tree instead of a vine. Its flavor sits closer to a mild, faintly resinous underripe tomato than the fruit most cooks expect.
Can you eat one raw?
Yes, once it is ripe and peeled. The skin is tough and bitter. Most people halve the fruit and eat it with a spoon, or peel it first the way you would blanch a tomato for canning.
Where can it survive outdoors in the US?
Only in essentially frost free areas. It needs temperatures above 50 degrees Fahrenheit to thrive and loses branches at 28 degrees.
That limits reliable outdoor growing to the mildest parts of California, Hawaii, and similar climates. Containers or a greenhouse cover everywhere else.
Why is it called tamarillo instead of tree tomato?
New Zealand exporters created the name around 1970. The goal was to separate the fruit from the word tomato in shoppers’ minds.
Both names describe the same plant, Solanum betaceum.
How long does it take to produce fruit?
Around 1.5 to 2 years from planting. A healthy tree then stays productive for roughly 5 to 6 years.
Some growers report useful yields for 6 to 8 years before decline sets in.
Bottom line: a tree tomato is not a tomato at all. It is a distinct South American fruit, Solanum betaceum, sharing only a plant family and a passing resemblance with the garden vegetable. It needs warm, frost free, well drained conditions to thrive, grows fast where it is happy, and carries a real pest list once planted. For the actual vegetable this fruit gets compared to, see this site’s complete guide at https://knowtomato.com/how-to-grow-tomatoes/ and the full rundown of tomato types at https://knowtomato.com/types-of-tomatoes/.
SOURCES
Purdue University, Center for New Crops and Plant Products: Tree Tomato, in Fruits of Warm Climates by Julia F. Morton. https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/tree_tomato.html