The sweet potato is native to the tropical regions of South America and Central America. It has been domesticated and cultivated for 8,000 years.
Numerous representations of the sweet potato have been found in Colombian pottery, as well as remains of tuberous roots in tombs.
Something about the past
The ancestors of the legendary Incas were the first to cultivate sweet potatoes high in the South American Andes.
It is believed they had strong beliefs associated with the tuber, using it as a means to tell time and predict the future.
Sweet potatoes were so important to the inhabitants of this region that their descendants, the modern Quechua Indians, have more than 1,000 different names for potatoes in their native language.
An ancient crop
Currently, the sweet potato is the fifth most important crop in the world, after wheat, corn, rice, and sugarcane.
However, in the 18th century, the tuber was a surprisingly novel sight—scary to some and baffling to others—part of a global ecological upheaval triggered by Christopher Columbus.
Compared to cereals, tubers are inherently more productive. If the head of a wheat or rice plant grows too large, the plant will topple, resulting in a loss.
Growing underground means tubers are not limited by the rest of the plant. In 2008, a Lebanese farmer dug up a potato weighing almost 25 pounds. It was larger than his head.
