Solanum tuberosum

 The potato, Solanum tuberosum, is one of several edible tuber-forming nightshades native to the Andes Mountains, where the local indigenous peoples have cultivated literally over a thousand of varieties for thousands of years. When the Spanish conquered the Inca Empire, Spanish merchants brought the tuber to Europe, where it was then misnamed with a corruption of “batata,” a Taino Indian word for the unrelated sweet potato, Ipomea batata (which is a species of tuber-forming morning glory).

The edible part of the potato is its tuber, which are produced in the ground by the plant’s root system. All other parts of the plant, from the fruit down to tubers growing exposed to sunlight, are poisonous due to the presence of the toxic alkaloid solanine.

The potato’s introduction into Europe was not well-received at first. Many people shunned the plant for being a relative of the deadly nightshade. The potato’s toxicity was made apparent when a member of the court of Queen Elizabeth grew potatoes for his queen, and had the royal cooks harvest the plants, and not the tubers, to make a stew that sickened the entire court.

Eventually, the potato became accepted as a food item in European cuisine. Today, the potato has become an indispensable food crop that feeds billions of people. About two-thirds of the 340 million metric tons of potatoes grown annually are eaten directly by humans. The potato is an important source of dietary fiber and starch, and also provides large amounts of Vitamins C and B6, and Magnesium.

Although China is currently the world’s leading producer of potatoes, the casual diner does not associate the potato as a “Chinese” vegetable, let alone assume that it has use in Chinese Traditional Medicine. In Chinese cuisine, the potato is peeled, cubed, and cooked in stews, or stir-fry. Potato starch is commonly used in Chinese cooking to thicken soups; in some recipes, a soup may be thickened by cooking the potato in the broth until it disintegrates.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the potato is used to harmonize the stomach, i.e., calming an upset stomach, and relieve various pain disorders caused by inflammation, such as rheumatism and arthritis. Much like in Western Herbalism, fresh potato, or its juice, is used by TCM practioners for poultices to apply to burns and mumps to speed healing. Its primary function in Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Chinese Food Therapy, though, is to treat malnourishment by tonifying spleen qi.