POTATO

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LATIN NAME: Solánum tuberósum

FAMILY: Solanaceae

GENUS: Solanum

COMMON NAMES: tater and spud

DISTRIBUTIVE AREA: from the United States to southern Chile.

BOTANICAL INFORMATION: Solanum tuberosum is a species of perennial tuberous herbaceous plants of the Solanum genus in the Solanaceae family. It reaches a height up to 1 meter. Stem is bare, ribbed. Part of the stem, immersed in the soil, produces long shoots (length 15-20 cm). Potato leaf is dark green. Flowers are white, pink and violet, collected in the corymb on the top of the stem. Cup and corolla are five-parted. Fruit is a multi-seeded, dark green, poisonous berry with a diameter of 2 cm, resembling a small tomato.

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION

The main active substance of the plant shoots is a hexose glycoside consisting of glucose, rhamnose, arabinose, mannose, xylose, galactose, uronic acids.

The average potato contains:

  • water 75%
  • starch 18.2%
  • nitrogenous substances (crude protein) 2%
  • sugars 1.5%
  • cellulose 1%
  • fats 0.1%
  • titrated acids 0.2%
  • substances of phenolic nature 0.1%
  • pectin substances 0.6%
  • other organic compounds (nucleic acids, glycoalkaloids, hemicelluloses, etc.) 1,6%
  • mineral substances 1.1%

TINCTURE RECIPE FROM POTATO FLOWER

Put 1 tablespoon of fresh shredded potato flower to a glass jar. Pour 100 ml of vodka in it. Put the container to the dark, cool, dry place and leave there for 7 days, shaking periodically. When it is ready, then strain.

INTERESTING AND FUNNY FACTS ABOUT POTATO

  • You can survive entirely on potatoes and butter, which provide all necessary nutrients the human body needs.
  • Potatoes absorbs Wi-Fi signals the same way people do and are used to test/improve internet signals on airplanes.
  • Potato chips were invented after a chef lost his temper with a customer who kept asking for his potatoes to be more fried and thinner.
  • Potatoes have almost all nutrients humans need to survive. To prove this, the Executive Director from the Washington State Potato Commission ate nothing but potatoes for 60 days.
  • About 7% of all the potatoes grown in the USA are turned into McDonald’s fries.
  • A potato has more chromosomes than a human being.

“My idea of heaven is a great big baked potato and someone to share it with”

Oprah Winfrey

*This article is for informational purposes only. We suggest consulting with a physician before using these or any other herbal supplements.