I did not see the flowers till you pointed them out! ... Well the nightshade (solanacea) family makes sense if this has lots of tomato plant features. EDIT: Egads. Just looked it up and Carolina Horsenettle is horrible! Glad I have had no occasion to meet up with it. This post was edited by lola-lemon on Thu, Feb 14, 13 at 18:22

seedyoulater, The tomato, chili and garden huck are all in the same family (Deadly Nightshade or SOLANACAEA) but each in a different genus (Lycopersicon, Capsicum and Solanum respectively). You would at least want your plants to be in the same genus to have a chance of crossing. The members of the genus Brassica (broccoli and its relatives), for example, are reknowned for their readiness to cross. Being in the same family however isn't enough and even being in the same genus, for the most part, isn't enough (Brassicas notwithstanding of course). The more distant the plants the more remote becomes the possibility of crossing. If you were assigning probabilities, the likelihood of crossing two members of the same family but belonging to different genera is, for the most part, so small it might as well be considered zero. There are always exceptions of course. Someone above mentioned their nervousness at the idea of crossing members if the family SOLANACAE because so many of them are poisonous (hence the common name DEADLY Nightshade). But if you managed to cross any plants of different genera, no matter what family they belonged to, I personally would want a full toxicolgy workup done before I ate any part if the newly created plant! Combining genes can have many unexpected and unlooked for results - the Flavrsvr (?spelling) tomato was a case in point. Created through genetic manipulation to maintain a firm skin/shell even when fully ripe, it was a smashing success from this point of view. Unfortunately, by all reports, it had a rather unpleasant taste. It it wasn't poisonous though. There was also a potato, created through genetic manipulation to resist a common potato pest that unfortunately made people nauseous. It too has been withdrawn. I guess that's why nature is designed the way she is. Nasty things usually cannot leap the species barrier without some intervention! Did I get carried away here or what!! Sorry.

What are the traits of Maxifort? Is it available in Australia? I've heard of people grafting eggplants onto wild tobacco (which grows as a weed here in Brisbane). I'd like to try this, but I don't want my tomatoes laced with nicotine. Would this happen or is it safe? I think I'm more looking for a list with "What is the most long lived plant in the Solanaceae family?" "What is the most tree-like plant in the Solanaceae family?" etc

Evening All! Well, Katie, I have to tell you that I tried the Hawaiian Current tomatoes today and they were quite tasty! Just a little sweet. However, I had to remove one of the plants - I had noticed last night that something was eating the leaves, and discovered what it was tonight. Yes, it was Manduca Goinguemaculata! Good Grief! A tomato hookworm, 3, to be exact. I pulled them off and drowned them. Boy, they sure stripped that plant fast! Fortunately, it was the plant that wasn't fruiting, so I may get to eat more of the HCs. Strange experience! Ruth, I tend to get excited when I see a grave stone with "1700"s on it. They are rare, at least for me. Would love to see one where the person passed in the 1700s. Have a great night! Shirley!