Cultivar · Tomato cultivar
Brandywine
Brandywine is a late-maturing heirloom beefsteak tomato, best known in a large pink, potato-leaved form, grown on indeterminate plants primarily for fresh use.
Record
Cultivar / variety- Variety of
- Tomato
- Botanical taxon
- Solanum lycopersicum
- Type
- Heirloom
- Breeding method
- Open-pollinated
- Origin
- United States
- Registry status
- Historical
- Adaptation
- A warm-season indeterminate heirloom typically grown in gardens; as a late type it needs a sufficiently long, warm season to ripen well.
- Intended use
- Fresh (slicing / beefsteak)
Registry listing or variety protection is jurisdiction- and date-specific and does not by itself indicate current commercial availability, universal cultivation approval, patent status, or a recommendation.
Brandywine is a classic heirloom beefsteak tomato, most familiar as a large, pink-fruited, potato-leaved form. It grows on tall indeterminate plants, matures relatively late, and is grown above all for fresh eating rather than for processing.
As an open-pollinated heirloom, Brandywine is maintained by saving seed rather than through a formal breeding program, and it has been passed between growers for generations. Its exact origin and introduction date are reported inconsistently and are not firmly documented.
Identity and type
Brandywine is described as a large-fruited beefsteak on indeterminate, often potato-leaved plants that fruit over an extended period and ripen late in the season. It is grown for fresh use and is a staple of heirloom-tomato collections.
- Parent crop
- Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)
- Growth habit
- Indeterminate
- Fruit type
- Large beefsteak, often pink
- Intended use
- Fresh slicing and general table use
Strains and origin
Several distinct tomatoes circulate under the Brandywine name, including pink potato-leaf forms as well as red, yellow, and other selections. The widely grown pink potato-leaf strain is the reference point for most descriptions, but seed labelled simply "Brandywine" may differ.
Relationships
Evidence-backed connections in the knowledge graph.
Adapted to soil
Scope & limitations
Geographic scope: Documented as a United States heirloom now grown internationally by home and market gardeners; several named strains exist under the same name.
Climate context: Warm-season indeterminate heirloom; as a late type it favours regions with a long, warm growing season.
- Multiple distinct heirloom strains are sold as Brandywine, including pink, red, and yellow forms, so a single description cannot cover all of them.
- The cultivar’s origin and date of introduction are anecdotal and not firmly documented, so no breeder or release year is asserted here.
- Indeterminate, late-maturing behaviour depends heavily on climate and season length in a given location.
Sources
This article draws on the following authoritative sources. See our sources & methodology for how they are selected.
- [1]GRIN-Global / National Plant Germplasm System (opens in a new tab)Authoritative
USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
Cited for: Tomato germplasm and heirloom cultivar nomenclature
- Type:
- Official registry
- Jurisdiction:
- United States / Global
- Accessed:
- 2026-07-12
- [2]GBIF — Global Biodiversity Information Facility (opens in a new tab)High
Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
Cited for: Taxonomic backbone for Solanum lycopersicum
- Type:
- Reference database
- Jurisdiction:
- Global
- Accessed:
- 2026-07-12
- Moderate
Cited for: Horticultural description of the Brandywine heirloom type
- Type:
- Reference database
- Jurisdiction:
- United Kingdom
- Accessed:
- 2026-07-12