potato, (Solanum tuberosum), annual plant in the nightshade family (Solanaceae), grown for its starchy edible tubers. The potato is native to the Peruvian-Bolivian Andes and is one of the world’s main food crops.
What is a potato actually called?
The potato is a starchy tuber of the plant Solanum tuberosum and is a root vegetable and a fruit native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Potato.
Why is it called a potato?
The word is believed to be derived from the Spanish discoverers’ understanding of the South American Indians’ name for the plant, papa or patata. Over most of the United States, “potato” refers to Solanum tuberosum, the “white” or “Irish” potato, although in many parts of our South the term means “sweet potato”.
Is a potato a vegetable or a tuber?
Potatoes are vegetables. More specifically, potatoes are tubers, a type of root vegetable. They aren’t the roots of the potato plant themselves, but rather they grow off of those roots. Potatoes are certainly edible, and they’re almost exclusively used in savory dishes, with or without a protein.
What is a crop of potatoes called?
The portion of the potato plant which is harvested for food is called a tuber, not a root, and is often associated with the great potato famine in Ireland in the 19th century. Tuber formation occurs when soil temps are between 60 and 70 degrees F.
What are other names for potatoes?
synonyms for potato
- yam.
- murphy.
- plant.
- spud.
- tater.
- tuber.
Why is potato called Papa?
Elsewhere (and in Spain before this evolution of “patata”), the most common word for “potato” has been “papa,” borrowed from the Quechua “papa.” This makes sense as POTATOES COME FROM PERU. Pre-Colombian Incan Potato Varieties.
What is a potato in slang?
In a slang, potato is someone uninteresting,dull,strange ,ugly or fat.
What is spud short for?
Spud is a common nickname for the potato.
What do Irish call potatoes?
We can’t talk about Irish slang without mentioning potatoes! “Spuds” is another word for potatoes. Speaking of spuds, “Grá” means “love” in the Irish language. A lot of Irish people still use this word even when speaking in English.
Why is carrot not a tuber?
More specifically, it’s an enlarged storage organ, but it develops from elongated stem tissue, or rhizome. So a tuber is a root crop, but a plant can be a root and not a tuber. Carrots and cassava are root vegetable crops. Potatoes, sweet potatoes and yams, on the other hand, are edible tuber crops.
What type of vegetable is a potato?
starchy vegetable
“Potatoes are put in the starchy vegetable category, due to the amount of carbohydrates they contain,” says Dunn. “But they are a type of vegetable and they contain plenty of vitamins and minerals.”
What food is a tuber?
Potatoes and yams are tubers, whereas taro and cocoyams are derived from corms, underground stems, and swollen hypocotyls. Cassava and sweet potatoes are storage roots and canna and arrowroots are edible rhizomes.
Is a potato a tuber?
The potato is a typical tuber, as is the Jerusalem artichoke. The term is also used imprecisely but widely for fleshy roots, corms, or rhizomes of other plants that resemble tubers—e.g., the “tuber” (actually a tuberous root) of a dahlia.
Is a potato a plant?
The potato (Solanum tuberosum) is an herbaceous annual that grows up to 100 cm (40 inches) tall. As the potato plant grows, its compound leaves manufacture starch that is transferred to the ends of its underground stems (or stolons). The stems thicken to form a few or as many as 20 tubers close to the soil surface.
What is potato plural?
potato. Plural. potatoes. A pile of potatoes. The plural form of potato; more than one (kind of) potato.
What’s a fancy word for mashed potatoes?
Pomme puree is a type of mashed potato that has a much smoother texture than the normal mashed potato. The term itself is French for ‘mashed potato’.
Does Murphy mean potato?
noun, plural mur·phies. an Irish or white potato.
Whats the opposite of a potato?
The word potato typically refers to a starchy tuber grown from the Solanum tuberosum plant. There are no categorical antonyms for this word. However, one could loosely use any unrelated foodstuffs as antonyms, e.g., chicken, fish, eggs, etc.
Why do Mexicans say papas?
It’s a term of endearment, like calling your significant other “baby” even though he/she is not a baby. Sometimes I even call my dog “papa” even though his name is Leo.
What are papas in English?
daddy, the ~ Noun. dad, the ~ Noun. father, the ~ Noun.