Potato & Starchy Staples

Stolons or runners

aboveground horrizontal stems that produce buds/roots at nodes

Ex: strawberries

Rhizomes

Thick horizontal underground stems that spread the plant; new shoots, come out of the nodes

Ex: Ginger

Tuber

enlarged storage tips of a rhizome 

Ex: potato & yam

Bulb

short vertical underground stems w/ thick leaves

Ex: Onion

Corm

Short vertical underground stem, surrounded by thin leaf-like scales

Peru/Andean Region in South America

Potato origin

Vegetative propagation, asexual clonal reproduction

Potato reproduction

Sweet potato

-a tuberous root of a vine

-originated in the Caribbean

-Rich in starch

-Requires a more tropical climate

Cassava

-a tuberous root

-originally from Brazil & Mexico

-Produced in tropical Africa, Asia, & 

South America

-Needs to be processed to remove hydrogen cyanide

Yam

-a tuber

-used as food & a source of steroids & to ake contraceptive pills, cortisone, & other medicines

Taro

-a corm

-originally from South East Asia