Maybe Mr. Stripey was the only striped tomato he knew, and he bought it somewhere where it wasn't identified, so he called it that. Bonnie stocks them in the big box stores, so a lot of people have seen the name.

I've seen grocery displays of "heirloom tomatoes" (in both Ingles and The Fresh Market) identified by nothing more than those words; I also saw info once online from a produce wholesaler that sells an "heirloom" mix. Sometimes in the store there's a second small sign which lists, generally, Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, and a bi-color (sometimes Gold Medal and other times, IIRC, something else).

Often there are at least four different types of tomatoes in the display. I don't remember what I saw that was obviously none of those 3 varieties: maybe a red, or something with ribs or lobes, or what I call a gathered-purse shape, or something like Green Zebra.

I can also imagine the sort of scenario where your co-worker asked someone in the store (whether employee or another customer), "What's this one called?" and someone said, "Mr. Stripey," because that was the only striped tomato they'd ever heard of.

Arbuznyi?

Actually there are two Mr. Stripeys.

The first one, called Tigerella is a small red with gold stripes and was bred by the Glasshouse Research inst in England and came out of the same cross that gave us Craigella and Tangella. I like the latter two but not the first one.

Tigerella quickly became known as Mr. Stripey.

Then the former owner of the stable of companies that were sold to Jung's a few years ago came up with a typical large gold/red bicolor of which there are about 150 similar varieties, sent the seeds to Seeds by Design in CA, a wholesale place, and they didn't know there already was a MR. Stripey so called this second oone Mr. Stripey as well.

Thus leading to lots of confusion at several seed sites where the two were confused.

Seeds by Design sends out a list of varieties to many commercial large scale farmers, nurseries and the like, which is why you see the large bicolor one at almost ALL of the big box stores and nurseries.

But you say red with black stripes, probably dark green actually, and there are several varieties that look like that and one I know is at Territorial Seeds.

Hope that helps.

Carolyn

Awesome info Carolyn!

I asked him this morning where he got it and he said the farmers market and it was labeled Mr. Stripey. He said it was very good and was going to buy some more.

I asked him to get an extra one for me and to ask them if it was actually called Mr. Stripey. Also ask them if it was an heirloom or OP.

It was pretty big, about 3 1/2" in diameter. If it's good and OP I'll save the seed. Oh, and take a picture!

From your description of it there is no way that it's the large gold/red bicolor known as Mr. Stripey, so it would appear that the vendor selling the fruits may not have been up to snuff, as it were, on what he or she was growing and selling.

Looking forward to those pictures. ( smile)

Carolyn

I thought I'd throw up some pictures of the large bicolor Mr Stripey for you to take a look at and compare with what you have.

You can cut and past the link from Tania's site to your browser. Whoops, that link is at the end below my user name.

But when you open the clickable link below be sure to put your mouse pointer over each picture to be sure you aren't looking at Tigerella. When you do the mouse thing the picture enlarges, tells you what the variety is and where the picture came from.

You'll also notice that the degree of the seondary color on the exterior is variable, meaning it doesn't always go to the top as shown in Tania's picture. It's the same with all of the gold/red bicolors, that is, variable degrees of exterior reddish/pink color.

Carolyn

http://t.tatianastomatobase.com:88/wiki/Mr._Stripey

Here is a link that might be useful: Mr Stripey ( Google IMAGES)

Wow there seems to be quite a variance in appearance in the Mr Stripeys, of course not including the Tigerella's which are clearly a different variety. Is the variable color envoronmental or nutritional? Perhaps both?

Thanks for the pics Carolyn! The only thing close is the Cherokee Purple. That was my first thought when I saw it.

I told him that I thought that it was a Cherokee Purple. He said: "No, it's not, I don't like Cherokee Purple!"

I have never grown Cherokee Purple, so I couldn't be sure. But I have grown Mr. Stripey several times over the years.

I think you are correct on "so it would appear that the vendor selling the fruits may not have been up to snuff, as it were, on what he or she was growing and selling."

They most likely didn't grow it. The farmers market that he goes to has a section that sells in small quantities. The actual farmers there only sell wholesale in large quantities.

Was this close?

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1350682}}

Wow there seems to be quite a variance in appearance in the Mr Stripeys, of course not including the Tigerella's which are clearly a different variety. Is the variable color envoronmental or nutritional? Perhaps both?

*****

If we were comparing differently named gold/red bicolors I'd say the difference in the degree of coloration is variety dependent with respect to DNA.

But when looking at pictures of a single variety and seeing such variation, I don't know if it's environmental or nutritional, b'c there's no way to know how differently different folks grow their tomatoes, what they use for amendments, where they grow them and what the season was like as to weather in that season.

But I can't help wondering if the different coloration of the specific Variety Mr. Stripey, or the color variation that can be seen with many others of the same type, might be due to specific seed sources with perhaps a mutation thrown in here ot there.

No way to proove that either. LOL

Carolyn

The Mr Stripey tomatoes I've grown on and off for several yrs look like the ones pictured in Carolyn's link. I had 20 oz Estlers Mortgage Lifters last yr weighed on a Paula Deen scale from Wal-Mart but a 24 oz Mr Stripey was my biggest. Besides being oblate it was also oblong. They are a sweet tomato that I love if fresh and not watery with egg and bacon on toast. Wow!