Sweet Potatoes

The sweet potato or sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the bindweed or morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable.The young shoots and leaves are sometimes eaten as greens. The sweet potato is distantly related to the common potato (Solanum tuberosum), both being in the order Solanales. The sweet potato, especially the orange variety, is often called a “yam” in parts of North America but is unrelated to true yams. Cultivars of the sweet potato have been bred to bear tubers with flesh and skin of various colours.