Potatoes belong to a small family, the Nightshade or Solanaceous family. The other members are tomatoes, peppers and eggplants. Potatoes resemble tomatoes more than the other family members.
Is potato and tomato in the same family?
The Solanaceae family includes a number of commonly collected or cultivated species. The most economically important genus of the family is Solanum, which contains the potato (S. tuberosum, in fact, another common name of the family is the “potato family”), the tomato (S.
Why are tomatoes and potatoes related?
Tomatoes and potatoes belong to the Solanaceae or Nightshade Family. Plants within a family share certain morphological characteristics. The flowers on tomatoes and potatoes are similar in appearance. Potato fruit are similar in shape (though much smaller in size) to those on tomatoes.
Are tomatoes and potatoes the same?
We think of potatoes and tomatoes as being quite different, and yet the two plants are closely related. Not only are both in the nightshade family (Solanaceae), but both are in the same genus (Solanum).
What is closely related to potatoes?
Potatoes belong to the nightshade family (Solanaceace), which also includes many other important crops like peppers, tomatoes, tomatillos, eggplant, tobacco, and more. Critical to the world’s food supply, potatoes are the fourth most farmed crop. Potatoes are only distantly related to sweet potatoes.
Did the potato evolve from the tomato?
The story of potato started around 350 million years ago, when they started to evolve from the poisonous ancestor of the plant nightshade (this family of plants eventually evolved not only into potatoes, but also into tobacco, chili peppers, bell peppers and tomatoes).
Why are they called nightshades?
Nightshade plants contain different types of alkaloid compounds, food factors that cause physiological changes in the body. The origin of the name “nightshade” is not clear, but some suggest the name describes how these plants prefer to grow and flower in the night and shade.
Can a potato cross with a tomato?
Actually, the potato cannot be crossed with the tomato. Even if it could be, pollination would not affect the appearance of the fruit. Except for the seeds, the fruit is maternal tissue and not influenced by the pollen parent.
Can I be allergic to tomatoes?
Tomatoes are one of the common causes of food allergy, ranging from 1.5% to 20% in the population with foodborne allergies (4). Tomato allergies have been reported in almost 1.5% of the entire population in Northern Europe, 16% in Italy and 5.6% in Germany (1, 8).
Are tomatoes healthier than potatoes?
Potatoes contain drastically more vitamins, especially the B group, while tomatoes are rich in vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin K which potatoes lack. Tomatoes contain fewer calories and carbohydrates. On the other hand, potatoes are rich in micronutrients such as calcium and potassium.
What family are tomatoes in?
Nightshade is a family of plants that includes tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes, and peppers. Tobacco is also in the nightshade family. Nightshades are unique because they contain small amounts of alkaloids. Alkaloids are chemicals that are mainly found in plants.
Is a potato a fruit?
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. Potatoes are not fruit, however.
What are tomatoes related to?
Because of its flower structure, the tomato is obviously closely related to the genus Solanum which includes the potato (S. tuberosum), eggplant (S. melongena), and a number of species called nightshades.
Is a sweet potato actually a potato?
Sweet potatoes are not potatoes
Unlike regular potatoes, which are tubers, sweet potatoes are considered to be root vegetables. The root, however, is described as a tuberous root. Both sweet and regular potatoes grow under the soil, but they are very different when it comes to density, taste and nutrition.
Where do tomatoes originate from?
From its origins as a wild plant in the Americas to the thousands of varieties grown around the world today, tomatoes have evolved into one of the world’s most popular food crops. Today’s tomatoes began as wild plants in the Andes, growing in parts of Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
Why were potatoes illegal in France?
However, French people did not trust the new food, which was used mainly for feeding pigs, and in 1748 growing potatoes was banned by parliament as they were thought to spread disease, especially leprosy.
What did potatoes originally look like?
The first potatoes seen in Europe had tiny tubers the size of peas or cherries. This was because the formation of tubers was regulated by the length of day. Being close to the equator, the Andes experience days and nights of equal length.
When did humans start eating potatoes?
The potato was the first domesticated vegetable in the region of modern-day southern Peru and extreme northwestern Bolivia between 8000 and 5000 BCE. Cultivation of potatoes in South America may go back 10,000 years, but tubers do not preserve well in the archaeological record, making identification difficult.
Are carrots a nightshade?
Carrots are not on the nightshades vegetable list either. If a recipe calls for the use of peppers, or other nightshade vegetables, try using raw carrots or onions instead.
Are blueberries a nightshade?
Blueberries are not technically a nightshade plant. But, like nightshades, they contain some solanine. Blueberries have been called a “superfood” because they contain antioxidant compounds.
Is coffee a nightshade?
Here’s a list of vegetables that people often think are nightshades, but are not nightshades: Black pepper. Coffee.