Are there differences between Tomato Species?

There is a dramatic difference in looks across all our tomatoes, although I can't get the photos to really reflect this. The photo below shows 4 of the 6 varieties of regular tomato we are growing: from top, moving clockwise: Paul Robeson, Brandywine, Roma, and Bloody Butcher. (We are also growing Celebrities and Oregon Spring Extra Early -- but they are only just in their final stages of ripening, despite the name of the latter.)

The Paul Robeson is a little beaten up -- We've lost several of these because we leave them too long before picking. They get quite dark, almost a red purple with green streaks from the stem. They are a Russian heirloom tomato, imported back to the Americas, so-named in honor of the singer, who was a blacklisted Communist. It has a distinct, low, intense, dark flavor, a little like tomato paste, without many sweet highlights.

The Brandywine comes next. This tom is another heirloom, a favorite of gourmet chefs in restaurants around here. These tomatoes are pink -- no other color describes them. You can sort of see the pinkish cast, if you compare shoulders in the photo. Luckily, we read about them at the Farmer's Market -- they are best eaten when the shoulders are still a little green -- or we would have left them all to get red. Frankly, so far I've found them to be a little watery in flavor, but it's a nice clear tomato flavor.

Both the Robeson and the Brandywine in the photo, to give a sense of proportion, are bigger than my fist, about a pound each.

Then we have an ordinary Roma -- I'm not a big fan of these, they taste like unremarkable Tomato -- but they do cook wonderfully thickly for sauces. And the harvest is amazing, this year. We're getting multiple dozens.

Lastly (in the photo) is a Bloody Butcher. These are small, somewhere between a large cherry tomato and a small tomato you'd get in the grocery store, but when ripe have a marvelous light, juicy flavor. It takes two to make a normal tomato sandwich, but it has been producing since July, so I can't complain.