Cultivated Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)
Also known as Irish potato.
↑Range - Expand
| Legend | Color |
| Introduced | |
| Introduced or Not Present |
This tentative map is based on our own research. It may have limited data on Canada and/or Mexico, and there is some subjectivity in our assignment of plants as introduced vs. expanded. Read more in this blog post.
Although this plant occurs somewhere in each of these regions, it may only occur in a small part of some or all of them.
This species, native to the west coast of South America, is widely cultivated, but only infrequently establishes in the wild. FSUS marks all populations in the southeast as waifs, meaning they have not formed sustaining populations. This may explain the disparity between BONAP, which reports it widely, and POWO, which only reports it in a few states, as BONAP tends to have a lower threshold for marking something established in the wild. Our map is based on BONAP's reports, but we note that many of these may not have formed persistent populations. This species is also introduced in Canada and probably Mexico, but we have yet to build these portions of its map.
↑Uses
This is the species that all cultivated potatoes belong to. It is one of the most important crops globally, a staple food that is high in calories and, especially for small tubers consumed with the skin on, is well-rounded nutritionally, also containing some high-quality protein and a balance of vitamins and minerals that covers much of human dietary needs. It is especially valued for being easy to grow and being able to be cultivated on land that cannot support other equally-nutritious crops.
The potato has a long history of cultivation, dating back to 7,000-10,000 years ago in southern Peru and northwest Bolivia.
Only the tubers are edible. The sprouts and foliage are toxic, like most nightshades, and for this species, the fruit are also toxic, typically only used to propagate potatoes by seed to breed new varieties. Potato propagation for production is achieved through vegetative reproduction so as to maintain consistent qualities.
↑Links & External Resources
• Solanum tuberosum (Irish potato) | USDA PLANTS Database (About This Site)
• Solanum tuberosum | Go Botany (About This Site)
• Solanum tuberosum (Potato) | Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder (About This Site)
• Solanum tuberosum (potato) | CABI Invasive Species Compendium (About This Site)
• Solanum tuberosum | Biota of North America Project (BONAP) (About This Site)
• Solanum tuberosum | NatureServe Explorer (About This Site)
• Potato | Maryland Biodiversity Project (About This Site)
• Solanum tuberosum L. | Plants of the World Online (POWO) (About This Site)
