HISTORY OF THE SWEET POTATO

The sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is another of the native American plants found by Columbus and his shipmates. Although it was probably found on various islands of the West Indies on some of the earlier voyages, it is not definitely mentioned in their records until the fourth voyage.

In the islands off the coast of Yucatan and Honduras the sweet potato was called axi and batatas or betatas by the natives; in 1514, Peter Martyr named nine varieties that grew in Honduras. It was taken to Spain about 1500 and several kinds were cultivated there by the middle of the 16th century, including red, purple, and pale or “white” varieties.

Cultivation of sweet potatoes was tried unsuccessfully in Belgium in 1576. John Gerarde of London, claimed that in 1597 he grew the plant in England (probably without much success) and that it was known in India, Barbary, and other hot regions.

Especially Important in Tropical Areas The sweet potato has become far more important in subtropical and tropical areas than has the Irish potato because it thrives in a hot, moist climate, while the latter requires a cool climate. Thus it has never become popular in Europe and it still is little known even in the warmer Mediterranean areas. It is important in the warm Pacific islands, the East Indies, India, China, and is now the third most important food crop in Japan.

Sweet potatoes were cultivated in Virginia in 1648, possibly earlier, and are said to have been taken into New England in 1764. They were grown by the Indians of our South in the 18th century, but we do not know how much earlier. In the South today they are generally preferred to Irish potatoes as a staple food; in the North the reverse is true.

In the United States we prefer yellow or orange-fleshed varieties because of their valuable carotene (provitamin A) content. (National Geographic: 1949)

(Reference: Texas A & M University: Vegetable Travelers)

(Sweet potato photo from the University of Illinois Extension)

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