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Italian Cooks Up Eggplant and Tomato Tree

Hardy hybrid said to yield better produce than nature intended

By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 11, 2008 2:12 PM CDT

(Newser) – A Sicilian amateur botanist claims to have developed a plant hybrid that functions as the world’s first tomato/eggplant tree, ANSA reports. Taking advantage of the fact that all three share the same genus, Giuseppe Marino grafted tomato and eggplant tissue onto a devil’s fig shrub, a hardy plant that can survive with very little water.

The eggplant and tomato tree, able to be cultivated nearly anywhere, could be ''an answer … to the problem of world hunger," said Marino, adding, "The fruits are very big, with perfect taste, color and smell, and of a better quality than those grown in the normal way.”

Some beautiful red tomatoes.
Some beautiful red tomatoes.   ((c) Dylan Parker)
Some tomatoes are seen in this undated file photo.
Some tomatoes are seen in this undated file photo.   ((c) madame.furie)
An eggplant.
An eggplant.   (Earth Life Forms)
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