Is this normal for a tomato plant?

[LovetoLearn]

Hi Everyone,

I am growing tomatoes for the very first time and I was wondering if the way my plant is growing is "normal." Can someone give me some input?

I tried to google this, but nothing has come up-- it kind of looks like the tomato is growing at the very tip top of my plant, and it looks like the stem goes through the tomato....

Maybe this is totally normal, but some affirmation from others would be great! Here's a picture:

[Lindsaylew82]

I THINK you're right! How bizarre! Haha!

Can you post a picture in better light?

Maybe one from the top of the tomato?

[Juliuskitty]

If it is a determinate plant the tip top will be flower, which turns, hopefully to fruit, rather than leaf topped.not exactly sure what you mean about the stem growing through it, I can't seem to see that even when it is enlarged.

[JosephsGarden]

It is normal for that variety (some type of heirloom that is not typically grown any more because people nowadays don't appreciate that type of growth pattern). The trait is called "catfacing tomatoes".

[Lindsaylew82]

I think it looks like MORE than cat facing. The second picture does look like the fruit has grown around the plant stem. Or maybe through it.

That's really neat!

What is the cultivar?

[applestar]

If this fruit truss is on the very top of the plant, with no new growing shoots at all beyond it, then it's a weird mutation that's been showing up -- have been seeing reports of it in various gardening and tomato forums and blogs.

The plant produces a floral truss at the top of the stem, usually with a giant fused blossom that point upward or sideways. Some people call it "the sunflower effect"

It shouldn't affect the fruits (beyond the typical pithy core, uneven ripening megablossom fruit issues), and if it has a side shoot growing from somewhere below, it can continue to grow.

[LovetoLearn]

Thank you for all the replies!! I am so new to this that I googled many of the terms you used -- cultivar, floral truss and catfacing.

Unfortunately I know very little about the tomato plant I have. It was given to me from my mother and she received it from someone she met on a gardening forum.... no real information, but it sounds like they might be heirlooms? If anyone has any helpful tips on how to tell when they are ripe, I would be grateful!

I admit the tomato does resemble the images under "catfacing tomatoes" very much. It just has some additional green leaves coming out of it too! I guess that's not really the stem growing through it though...

It sounds like this may just be a mutation, unfortunately there is nothing growing beyond it, so I'll just have to hope for a side shoot!

Here is maybe a better picture to demonstrate what I was saying about it being attached to the "stem"

I am very new to this so thanks again for all the great responses!!

Top view-- the tomato grows directly at the end of the main stem:

[catgrass]

The last picture appears that the tomato has blossom end rot. Sometimes tomato worms will enter the tomato at the stem end-especially if they are growing fast after lots of rain and they start to crack.