Lycopersicon Noxius

A most amusing poem, if a little long, said Pliny the Elder, and which came to grief at the use of the word reasonous. However, all amusement aside, the tomato IS poisonous.

It is a member of the nightshade family and contains solanine, a bitter poisonous alkaloid. Not enough to kill you or me, but 100 grams of cherry tomatoes could certainly kill a cat.

It is the fresh tomato that is poisonous. Tomato sauce, spagetti sauce, tomato ketchup and tomato soup are beneficial to the health. As long as the tomato product bears no resemblance whatsoever to a tomato, you may consume it with impunity.

And now, continued Pliny, here is a little poem I have written for you, with some difficulty, as there is no word for tomato in the Latin tongue, so I have had to use the term Lycopersicon or Wolf Peach, the scientific name given to the tomato in the 18th century by the botanist John Hill:

Lycopersicon noxius est
Nisi coquatus
Parvum felem necabit
Non commendo consumare
Secatum inter panem
Edere sicut condimentum
In crustum caronis
Reasonous est
( Iocus!)

The tomato is poisonous
Unless it is cooked
A small amount will kill a cat.
I do not recommend its use
Sliced in a sandwich
But to eat tomato sauce
On a meat pie
Is reasonous
( Joke!)