‘Purple Dragon’ was developed from an F2 line of the ‘P20’ (‘OSU Blue’) and ‘Black and Brown Boar’ cross made by Mark McCaslin of Frogsleap Farm. This is what Mark writes about the pedigree of this variety: ‘I got seed of OSU Blue from a tomato friend and crossed this to several things in my nursery in 2009. A friend in Hawaii produced F2 seed over winter, and I selected F2 plants with anthocyanin fruit and other interesting characteristics in a large breeding nursery in 2010. There were 2 of ~200 F2 plants that really stood out in that nursery. One traced to the cross OSU Blue x Black and Brown Boar. It had very prominent anthocyanin stripes (Aft/gs) on purple/brown fruit. In 2011 I shared F3 seeds’.*
Very vigorous, indeterminate, regular leaf plants that yield clusters of small (1.4-3oz./40-80g), jewel-like, striped, plum-shaped fruits with anthocyanin shoulders, that become much more visible when fruits are exposed to intense sunlight. Outstanding, complex tomato flavors. Midseason, about 75-80 days to maturity.

* Mark McCaslin, post at the Tomato Depot on July 18, 2013

Culinary Use

Paste / Sauce / Canner / Salad

Flavor Profile

Tart / Well-balanced

Flesh Color

Purple

Fruit Color

Anthocyanin / Striped

Fruit Shape

Plum/Pear/Piriform

Fruit Size

Saladette

Leaf Type

Regular

Maturity

Mid-season

Plant Type

Indeterminate

Species

Solanum lycopersicum

Variety

Heirloom