''Coleus rotundifolius'', synonyms ''Plectranthus rotundifolius'' and ''Solenostemon rotundifolius'', commonly known as native potato or country potato in Africa and called Chinese potato in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, is a

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

herbaceous plant Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition o ...

of the mint family (Lamiaceae) native to tropical Africa. It is cultivated for its edible tubers primarily in

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

, as well as more recently in parts of

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, especially India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Indonesia. ''C. rotundifolius'' is closely related to the coleus plants widely cultivated as ornamentals and is now again placed in the genus ''Coleus'', after being placed in the defunct genus ''Solenostemon'' and in '' Plectranthus''.

Use and cultivation

The egg-shaped tubers of the native potato appear very similar to the unrelated true potato, though they are smaller than modern commercial varieties. They are typically boiled, but may also be roasted, baked, or fried. Their flavor is bland, but sweeter than '' Coleus esculentus''. Native potato is overwhelmingly a subsistence crop, though flour milling is reported in

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

. ''C. rotundifolius'' is one of three ''Coleus'' species native to Africa grown for their edible tubers and using the same vernacular names. The others, ''C. esculentus'' and '' C. edulis'', native to southern Africa and

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

, respectively, have not spread beyond Africa. Its cultivation has been largely displaced by the spread of

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

, which was introduced by the Portuguese to Africa from South America about 500 years ago.

Names

In Africa, ''Coleus rotundifolius'' is also known as the Hausa potato or Sudan potato, in addition to the names native potato and country potato.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q87645190, from2=Q2716687, from3=Q39089208 rotundifolius Root vegetables Crops originating from Africa

Use and cultivation

Names

See also

References