An herbaceous perennial grown as an annual crop for its starchy underground tubers.
The potato (Solanum tuberosum, family Solanaceae) is a perennial about 1 metre tall that grows from underground tubers. It is one of the most widely grown food plants in the world and a very important staple: it yields heavily, stores well and can be available all year. Yields vary enormously, from 50 tonnes or more per hectare in some European countries to little more than 2 tonnes in parts of Africa. It probably arose in cultivation from several wild species of western South America, which are still used in breeding for disease resistance. All green parts of the plant, including green patches on the tubers, are poisonous, containing the alkaloid solanine, and the toxin is also produced in the sprouts.
Because it arose in the highlands of tropical South America, it is a cool-weather crop and in the tropics is rarely grown below 1,000 metres, where yields are poor. It grows best at about 22°C when young and 18°C as the tubers form; tubers grow best at a soil temperature of 16 to 20°C, and usually none form above 30°C. It does well on many soils, from sandy loams to peats, but dislikes wet or heavy clay, and prefers slightly acid soil rich in organic matter; on limy or humus-poor soils the tubers suffer from scab. It is normally grown from tubers, since seed from named varieties does not come true, though it usually gives a good crop.
Source: Useful Tropical Plants database (Fern, K.).
Tubers are a major starchy staple, boiled, fried, mashed, or roasted.
Propagated from seed tubers planted in ridges or mounds; requires cool temperatures and well-drained, fertile soil.