''Solanum jamesii'' (common names: wild potato or Four Corners potato) is a species of

nightshade Solanaceae (), commonly known as the nightshades, is a family of flowering plants in the order Solanales. It contains approximately 2,700 species, several of which are used as agricultural crops, medicinal plants, and ornamental plants. Many me ...

. Its range includes the southern

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. All parts of the plant, and especially the fruit, are toxic, containing

solanine Solanine is a glycoalkaloid poison found in species of the Solanaceae, nightshade family within the genus ''Solanum'', such as the potato (''Solanum tuberosum''). It can occur naturally in any part of the plant, including the Leaf, leaves, frui ...

when it matures. The tubers were/are eaten raw or cooked by several Native American tribes, but they require leaching and boiling in clay in order to be rendered edible. The tubers are small when compared to familiar varieties of '' S. tuberosum''. Escalante Valley in

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

boasts the oldest archaeologically documented cultivation sites of the Four Corners potato, dating back over 7,000 years, and the plant is so prevalent there that a former name for the area was "Potato Valley". ''S. jamesii'' is sometimes grown in yards or gardens as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

, and there have been recent experiments in Escalante, Utah to start growing it as a food vegetable again, making use of the lower-alkaloid cultivars selected by the natives. According to cultivariable.com, "The primary

glycoalkaloid Glycoalkaloids are a family of chemical compounds derived from alkaloids to which sugar groups are appended. Several are potentially toxic, most notably the poisons commonly found in the plant species '' Solanum dulcamara'' (bittersweet nightshad ...

in this species is tomatine, unlike the domesticated potato, in which the primary glycoalkaloids are solanine and

chaconine α-Chaconine is a steroidal glycoalkaloid that occurs in plants of the family Solanaceae. It is a natural toxicant produced in green potatoes and gives the potato a bitter taste. Tubers produce this glycoalkaloid in response to stress, providing ...

References

External links

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Solanum jamesii information
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Cultivariable Growing Guide
' jamesii Plants used in Native American cuisine {{Solanales-stub