Pomato

The pomato (a

The concept of grafting related potatoes and tomatoes so that both are produced on the same plant dates back to at least the early 19th century - 1833.[2]

As with all grafts, this plant will not occur in nature and cannot be grown from seed, because the two parts of the plant remain genetically separate, and only rely on each other for nourishment and growth. Like most standard types of plant grafting, a small incision is made in the stem of both plants and they are strapped together. Once the cuts have healed and the plants are joined, the leafy top of the potato plant can be cut away and the roots of the tomato can be removed, leaving the leaves of the tomato plant to nourish the roots of the potato plant.

• Pomatos play a central role in the 1969 book The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin by Vladimir Voinovich, where a tomato/potato hybrid is invented by the book's antagonist, Gladyshev, but later eaten by a cow. The plant was called the 'Path to Socialism' or PATS.^[10]

• In the
  Fallout series
  , a potato and tomato hybrid created by cross-pollination of these plants, called a ‘Tato’, can be found and eaten by the player character.

• The pomato appears as a farmable crop in My Time at Sandrock, a post-apocalyptic farm life sim.

References