Identification
The tomato plant is not a native, nor is it naturalized. But in 2012, a year after severe flooding on the Missouri River floodplains, several tomato plants were found along the floodplain trails. One was in flower (A,B), another, right next to the Blind, was in fruit (C). A third patch of several plants was found on Cottonwood Trail. The yellow flowers resemble those of Nightshade, with petals recurved (A). The leaves are alternate on sprawling stems (B). The fruit is highly variable in shape, depending on the cultivated variety (C,D).
These plants probably were washed ashore with many other seeds during the flood of 2011.
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