Solanum tuberosum

El nombre botánico de la patata — una solanácea andina cultivada en todo el mundo por sus tubérculos feculentos, desde variedades cerosas para ensalada hasta harinosas para horno.

Solanum tuberosum — the potato

Solanum tuberosum is the botanical name for the potato, a tender perennial in the nightshade family (Solanaceae) grown the world over for its starchy, swollen tubers. It is the species behind our potatoes & tubers range within the wider vegetable collection.

History & origin

The potato was first domesticated thousands of years ago high in the Andes of Peru and Bolivia, where Indigenous farmers selected countless varieties suited to cold, thin mountain air. Spanish explorers carried it to Europe in the 16th century, where it was at first treated with suspicion before becoming one of the most important staple crops on the continent.

The species name tuberosum simply means "bearing tubers," while Solanum is the large genus it shares with the tomato, pepper and aubergine. Its rise reshaped European diets and history alike — a reminder of how much one humble tuber can matter.

Botanical characteristics

Solanum tuberosum is a sprawling, soft-stemmed plant that produces its crop underground: the edible "potatoes" are swollen stem tubers, not roots. Above ground it bears divided leaves and clusters of white, pink or purple star-shaped flowers, sometimes followed by small green fruits that — like the leaves and green tubers — are toxic and should never be eaten. Tubers range from waxy salad types to floury bakers, in skins of yellow, red, blue and purple.

Growing Solanum tuberosum from seed

While potatoes are usually grown from seed tubers rather than true seed, the principles are the same: plant into loose, fertile soil once the worst frosts have passed, then "earth up" the stems as they grow to protect developing tubers from light and frost. Keep them watered as the tubers swell, and lift earlies young or maincrops once the foliage dies back. Our vegetable growing guide covers the essentials, and the vegetable sowing calendar shows the planting and harvest windows.

Ready to grow your own? Browse the range or read up first.

Related categories: Potatoes & Tubers · Root Vegetables · Tomato · Pepper · All Vegetables

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¿Qué significa Solanum tuberosum?
Es el nombre científico de la patata. Solanum es el género de las solanáceas que comparte con el tomate y el pimiento, y tuberosum significa «que produce tubérculos». ¿Está la patata emparentada con el tomate?
Sí — ambas pertenecen al género Solanum dentro de la familia de las solanáceas, junto con los pimientos y las berenjenas, lo que explica el gran parecido de sus flores. ¿Son venenosas algunas partes de la planta de patata?
Sí. Las hojas, los tallos, los frutos y los tubérculos verdes o brotados contienen solanina, una sustancia tóxica que no debe ingerirse en ningún caso. Solo son seguros los tubérculos firmes y sin manchas. ¿La patata se cultiva a partir de semillas o de tubérculos?
Casi siempre se cultiva a partir de patatas de siembra (tubérculos pequeños) en lugar de semilla botánica verdadera, lo que garantiza que cada variedad se mantenga fiel a su tipo.