Herb. No. 189 · Convolvulaceae
Tropical American origin; a staple from the American South to West Africa and Polynesia.
Native · Mexico & Central America · South America
Sweet potato
Ipomoea batatas
Fruit & vegetableHarvestCompanionsLookalikes
A tropical morning-glory grown for its sweet orange (or white, or purple) storage root — not a yam, not a potato.
Sweet potato is an Ipomoea, a morning-glory of tropical America. The kitchen crop is the swollen root, cooked. Traditional West African, Caribbean, and Southern tables treat it as a staple. It is not Dioscorea (true yam) and not Solanum tuberosum. Leaves are a cooked green in some kitchens; this plate is the root.
Flavor
Orange types are pumpkin-honey. White types are drier, chestnut. Purple is a pie.
Parts used
Storage root, cooked
Helpful
- A heat-loving calorie crop
- Stores if cured
Cautions
- Needs a long warm season
- Raw is not a juice
- Not a potato in the cellar sense until cured