@zuzu @MikeD

I'm not a tomato expert by far but I believe these are the same, if what I've read elsewhere by Carolyn is true :





(first introduced as 'Olympic Flame' but the Olympic committee would not allow, so the name was changed to 'Old Flame'. 'Olympic Flame' should probably be listed as a "also sold as" name. )

I've also read that the name 'Flame' has been incorrectly applied to Old Flame, Hillbilly & Jaune Flammee. I'm not sure if a true cultivar called 'Flame' even exists.

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum 'Old Flame')

It's a muddle that I don't feel comfortable trying to sort out so I thought I'd rather bring the topic up for discussion for those more knowledgeable in this area.

Thanks!

Hi Danita,

I will do some digging over the weekend . . . I love mysteries like this one

Mike

Wonderful!

If you like mysterious muddles then tomatoes seem to be a good interest. I haven't even studied them that much but there seems to be a lot of name confusion!

I look forward to the final scene when you gather all the suspects in one room and declare the mystery solved!

I want to see how this comes out. Great beginning sleuthing Danita.

Sorry that this took me a while . . . Conceding to Carolyn's expertise, and since the facts seem to follow, this is what I have concluded:

In the past few years, a couple of seed merchants have incorrectly been claiming that 'Hillbilly' is also known as "Flame." This has confounded the already confusing history of "Flame" aka "Old Flame" aka "Olympic Flame."

According to Dr. Carolyn Male, this is false. Although there is a tomato variety called 'Flame', it is a relatively newly released (circa 1984) bi-color. Originally introduced as "Olympic Flame," it was quickly renamed "Old Flame" due to trademark claims, and over the years, the name has become commonly shortened to simply "Flame."

Thank you for bringing this to my attention, @Danita.

Mike