The actress correctly explained that tomato flowers need a little “tremble” in order to create some proper produce, much to Jimmy Fallon’s embarrassment.

Helen Mirren says tomatoes are ‘bisexual’: ‘I looked it up’

The actress correctly explained that tomato flowers need a little "tremble" in order to create some proper produce, much to Jimmy Fallon's embarrassment.

By Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis is a news writer at*  *with over five years of experience covering the latest in entertainment. A proud Kingston University alum, Emlyn has written about music, fandom, film, television, and awards for multiple outlets including MTV News, *Teen Vogue*, Bustle, BuzzFeed, *Paper Magazine*, Dazed, and NME. She joined EW in August 2022.

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Published on August 12, 2025 12:21PM EDT

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Dame Helen Mirren on July 13, 2025 in London, England. Credit:

Jed Cullen/Dave Benett/Getty; Getty

Dame Helen Mirren is sharing some tomato tips.**

While visiting *The Tonight Show *on Monday, the *Thursday Murder Club* actress notified Jimmy Fallon — and, most likely, a good portion of the planet — that the flowers on tomato vines are “bisexual” and should be given a gentle little tingle in order to produce proper produce. **

The 80-year-old Oscar winner and gardener shared the advice while Fallon prepared her and Pierce Brosnan some fresh salsa during their interview.

“Incidentally, I just want to give you a tip about growing tomatoes,” Mirren said. “You know the little flower? Well, a good way to get a tomato out of a flower is you have to tremble the flower like this.”

Pierce Brosnan & Helen Mirren during an interview with host Jimmy Fallon on Monday, Aug. 11, 2025.

Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty

She then showcased her flower trembling skills by waving her index finger gently in the air. **

“You have to go like this with the flower. Did you know that?” she asked, to which Fallon awkwardly replied, “Stop doing that. I don’t know what’s happening.”**

A laughing Mirren exclaimed, “It’s legitimate!” **

But it was a tingle too far for Fallon. “I’m not doing that at all to my tomatoes,” he said. “Killing it is one thing! Doing that is something else.”

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“A tomato is a bisexual thing, you see,” Mirren said. When the audience let out an audible gasp, she added, “Well, it is!” **

Brosnan simply basked in the moment that had been presented to him. “You’ve ventured into this now, Jimmy,” he teased as Fallon burst into laughter. “Take it away!”

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Mirren wasn't just making up her plant knowledge. “I looked it up very recently because I had a problem with my tomatoes,” she explained. “It’s bisexual, so you have to go around to each tomato, each flower, and go like this [and tremble them].” **

The *MobLand* actress added that Fallon “obviously did that” because he ended up with a “lovely tomato” that he was using to make them salsa.

Mirren isn’t wrong. Tomatoes are considered to have ‘complete flowers’ because they contain both male and female reproductive parts. They often self-pollinate via being shaken by wind, insects, or, in Mirren’s case, getting a little jostle to help the process along and create new tomatoes. **

Brosnan brought up Mirren’s remarks while watching Fallon cut into a tomato for their snack. “Is that male or female?” he asked, to which Mirren responded, “No, it’s the flower.” **

Watch Mirren educate the world on tomatoes — and eat some salsa — in the clip above.

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL TV”