Madde Apples and Love Apples from Gerard's 1597 Herball

Like with corn, the origin of the tomato had already been lost less than 100 years after it was discovered. Gerard cautions against eating the “Raging Apple” as he calls what I believe we’d refer to as a “Roma” tomato because they can be poisonous (because the tomato is in the same family as belladonna this was a common viewpoint) and the “Apple of Love”, which he correctly notes is also called a “golden apple” (and still is in Italian), he traces back to the golden apples of the Hesperides.

Still – the tomato ladies and gentlemen!