Common name: Sweet potato, Shakrkand शकरकंद (Hindi), Mangra (Manipuri), சக்கர வள்ளிக்கிழங்கு Sarkaraivallikizangu (Tamil), Sihigensu (Kannada), Ratalu (Gujarati), Genusu (Telugu), Madhurakkilannu (Malayalam)
Botanical name: Ipomoea batatas Family: Convolvulaceae (Morning glory family)
The sweet potato is a vine whose large, starchy,
sweet-tasting tuberous roots are an important root vegetable. The young leaves
and shoots are sometimes eaten as greens. The sweet potato is only distantly
related to the potato (Solanum tuberosum)The genus Ipomoea that contains the
sweet potato also includes several garden flowers called morning glories,
though that term is not usually extended to Ipomoea batatas. Some cultivars of
Ipomoea batatas are grown as houseplants because of its attractive foilage.
It is a perennial vine, bearing alternate
heart-shaped or palmately lobed leaves and medium-sized morning-glory like
flowers that are white in color with a purple throat.
The edible tuberous root is long and tapered, with a smooth skin whose color
ranges between red, purple, brown and white. Its flesh ranges between white,
yellow, orange, and purple. The root is eaten roasted or boiled in India.
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