Potato
Solanum tuberosum L.
The potato (Solanum tuberosum) is one of the world's most important starchy tuber crops, fourth by fresh yield; its tubers are rich in starch, potassium and vitamin C, but sprouts and green parts contain toxic solanine.
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Potato — Tubers at marketPotato — Plant
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Potato — TubersPotato — Tubers at marketPotato — PlantOverview
A perennial herb usually grown as a single-season crop, 0.6–1 m tall, with dark-green pinnately compound leaves. The bisexual flowers have five petals and are white, pink or purple in cymes; the fruit is a small green berry that is not edible. The harvested part is the tuber — actually a swollen underground stem full of starch, with buds ('eyes'). All above-ground parts and the sprouts contain glycoalkaloids (solanine).
The potato was domesticated once, in present-day southern Peru and extreme northwestern Bolivia, some 7,000–10,000 years ago; the Spanish brought it to Europe in the second half of the 16th century and it spread worldwide. There are now more than 5,000 varieties. It is a staple crop, fourth by fresh yield after rice, wheat and maize. Tubers are boiled, fried, roasted, mashed or processed into starch and snacks; in Vietnam they are grown mainly around Da Lat. Caution: do not eat sprouted or green-skinned tubers, as they contain toxic solanine.
Life cycle
From seed to productSprouting
Old tubers sprout at the eyes; green sprouts contain solanine and are not eaten.
Plant & foliage
Erect stems with dark-green pinnately compound leaves.
Flowering
Five-petalled white/pink/purple flowers form cymes.
Harvest
When the tops die down, tubers are lifted, graded and cold-stored.
Distribution & origin
Share of recorded occurrences by region- Southern Peru · NW Bolivia (origin)30%
- Andes (native diversity)20%
- Europe20%
- Grown worldwide (incl. Vietnam — Da Lat)30%
Chemical composition
Relative content in agarwood resin- StarchMain component of the tuber45%
- PotassiumAbundant mineral in the tuber20%
- Vitamin CPresent in fresh tubers15%
- Solanine (glycoalkaloid)In green and sprouted tubers — toxic10%
- Dietary fibreIncluding the skin10%
Uses
- Staple food: boiled, fried (chips/fries), roasted, mashed
- Industry: potato starch, snacks, convenience foods
- Vietnam: grown mainly in Da Lat; stir-fried, fried, in soups; stored cold
Properties
- Stem
- Erect herb with pinnate leaves
- Tuber
- Swollen underground stem; skin yellow/brown/purple, flesh white/yellow
- Flower
- White/pink/purple, 5 petals, cymes
- Fruit
- Small green berry, inedible
Habitat & conservation
Native to the cool high Andes; prefers cool temperate climates and loose, humus-rich soil. In Vietnam it can be grown only in highland areas such as Da Lat (Lam Dong). Tubers need cold storage to keep well.
Conservation
Not Evaluated on the IUCN Red List. The potato is cultivated globally and its germplasm is conserved at the International Potato Center (CIP) and many genebanks, so it is not threatened.
References
- 1Plants of the World Online — Solanum tuberosum L. — Kew Science, 2026
- 2Potato (Solanum tuberosum) — nguồn gốc, phân loại, dinh dưỡng — English Wikipedia, 2026
- 3Khoai tây — nguồn gốc, sản lượng, giá trị dinh dưỡng — Vietnamese Wikipedia, 2026
- 4FAOSTAT — Crops and livestock products (potato) — FAO, 2024
- 5Nguồn ảnh: Sciencia58 (CC0) — Wikimedia Commons,
- 6Nguồn ảnh: 4028mdk09 (CC BY-SA 3.0) — Wikimedia Commons,
- 7Nguồn ảnh: George Chernilevsky (Public domain) — Wikimedia Commons,
- 8Nguồn ảnh: SAplants (CC BY-SA 4.0) — Wikimedia Commons,
- 9Nguồn ảnh: Ruslan V. Albitsky (CC BY-SA 3.0) — Wikimedia Commons,
- 10Nguồn ảnh: Iyinolamercy (CC0) — Wikimedia Commons,