The potato is a starchy tuber of the plant Solanum tuberosum and is a root vegetable native to the Americas, with the plant itself being a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae.
The sweet potato or sweetpotato is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the bindweed or morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable. The young shoots and leaves are sometimes eaten as greens. The sweet potato is distantly related to the common potato, both being in the order Solanales. Although the darker sweet potatoes are often referred to as "yams" in parts of North America, the species is not closely related to true yams. Cultivars of the sweet potato have been bred to bear tubers with flesh and skin of various colors.
Solanum is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants, which include three food crops of high economic importance: the potato, the tomato and the eggplant. It also contains the nightshades and horse nettles, as well as numerous plants cultivated for their ornamental flowers and fruit.
A vine is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent stems, lianas or runners. The word vine can also refer to such stems or runners themselves, for instance, when used in wicker work.
Potato vine may apply to several plant species of the genus Solanum.
Solanum dulcamara is a species of vine in the potato genus Solanum, family Solanaceae. Common names include bittersweet, bittersweet nightshade, bitter nightshade, blue bindweed, Amara Dulcis, climbing nightshade, fellenwort, felonwood, poisonberry, poisonflower, scarlet berry, snakeberry, trailing bittersweet, trailing nightshade, violet bloom, and woody nightshade.
Parthenocissus quinquefolia, known as Virginia creeper, Victoria creeper, five-leaved ivy, or five-finger, is a species of flowering vine in the grape family, Vitaceae. It is native to eastern and central North America, from southeastern Canada and the eastern United States west to Manitoba and Utah, and south to eastern Mexico and Guatemala.
Parthenocissus inserta, also known as thicket creeper, false Virginia creeper, woodbine, or grape woodbine, is a woody vine native to North America, in southeastern Canada and a large area of the United States, from Maine west to Montana and south to New Jersey and Missouri in the east, and Texas to Arizona in the west. It is present in California, but it may be an introduced species that far west.It is introduced in Europe.
Ipomoea quamoclit, commonly known as cypress vine, cypress vine morning glory, cardinal creeper, cardinal vine, star glory, star of Bethlehem or hummingbird vine, is a species of vine in the family Convolvulaceae native to tropical regions of the New World and naturalized elsewhere in the tropics.
The tomato is the edible berry of the plant Solanum lycopersicum, commonly known as a tomato plant. The species originated in western South America and Central America. The Nahuatl word tomatl gave rise to the Spanish word tomate, from which the English word tomato derived. Its domestication and use as a cultivated food may have originated with the indigenous peoples of Mexico. The Aztecs used tomatoes in their cooking at the time of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, and after the Spanish encountered the tomato for the first time after their contact with the Aztecs, they brought the plant to Europe, in a widespread transfer of plants known as the columbian exchange. From there, the tomato was introduced to other parts of the European-colonized world during the 16th century.
Solanum rostratum is a species of nightshade that is native to the United States and northern and central Mexico. Common names include buffalobur nightshade, buffalo-bur, spiny nightshade, Colorado bur, Kansas thistle, bad woman, Mexican thistle, and Texas thistle.
Solanum crispum is a species of flowering plant in the family Solanaceae, native to Chile and Peru. Common names include Chilean potato vine, Chilean nightshade, Chilean potato tree and potato vine. Growing to 6 m (20 ft) tall, it is a semi-evergreen, woody-stemmed climbing plant. The small blue fragrant flowers, 2.5 cm in diameter, with prominent yellow ovaries, appear in clusters in summer. They resemble those of the closely related potato. Very small poisonous berries are produced in autumn. The berries start out green, then yellow-orange, and finally purple. The leaves are oval.
Solanum erianthum is a species of nightshade that is native to southern North America and northern South America. It has been introduced to other parts of the world and has a nearly pantropical distribution. Common names include potatotree, mullein nightshade, velvet nightshade, and salvadora. The potatoes are not the fruits of the trees, they are the leaves.
Solanum seaforthianum, the Brazilian nightshade, is a flowering evergreen vine of the family Solanaceae native to tropical South America. As a member of the Solanum genus, it is related to such plants as the tomato and potato. It is characterized by clusters of four to seven leaves and can climb to a height of 6 m (20 ft) given enough room. It blooms in the mid to late summer with clusters of star-shaped purple inflorescence followed by scarlet marble-sized berries. The plant is highly heat resistant, but cannot tolerate frost conditions. The plant contains modest amounts of various tropane alkaloids such as atropine, scopolamine and hyoscyamine and should be considered mildly toxic and inedible. Promising molluscicidal and schistosomicidal activities were displayed for the S. seaforthianum extracts and fractions which are attributed to the glycoalkaloid content.
Dolichandra unguis-cati, commonly known as cat's claw creeper, funnel creeper, or cat's claw trumpet, is a rapidly growing climbing vine belonging to the family Bignoniaceae.
Solanum laxum, commonly known as potato vine, potato climber or jasmine nightshade, is an evergreen vine in the family Solanaceae. It is native to South America and commonly grown as an ornamental garden plant.
The Solanaceae, or nightshades, are a family of flowering plants that ranges from annual and perennial herbs to vines, lianas, epiphytes, shrubs, and trees, and includes a number of agricultural crops, medicinal plants, spices, weeds, and ornamentals. Many members of the family contain potent alkaloids, and some are highly toxic, but many—including tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, bell and chili peppers—are used as food. The family belongs to the order Solanales, in the asterid group and class Magnoliopsida (dicotyledons). The Solanaceae consists of about 98 genera and some 2,700 species, with a great diversity of habitats, morphology and ecology.
Solanum pachyandrum, known as bombona, is a spine-forming vine of the Solanum genus. It is native to southwestern Ecuador and northwestern Peru where the large juicy fruit is commonly eaten and considered a treat by children. Although the plant has been known and consumed by the indigenous people of that land, it was only published scientifically in 1914 by German botanist Friedrich August Georg Bitter.
Solanum etuberosum is a species of wild potato in the family Solanaceae, endemic to central Chile. Although it does not bear tubers, it is still being extensively studied for its resistance to Potato virus Y, Potato leafroll virus, green peach aphids, and frost. Due to its large, showy flowers it may have some use as an ornamental.
