Practical
Plants

Solanum curtilobum

Rucki

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Taxonomy and growth

Genus
Solanum
Life cycle
perennial
Flower type
hermaphrodite

Uses

Toxicity

Toxicity warning. The historical record reports a hazard for this plant. Do not use it to decide which parts are safe to eat or use medicinally.

Although no specific mention of toxicity has been seen for this species, it belongs to a genus where many if not all the members have poisonous leaves and sometimes also the unripe fruits.

Edible uses

Root - cooked[3]. A good source of starch but the root has a bitter taste. This bitterness can be removed by freeze-drying the tubers to make a food called 'chuño'[4].

Plant part
Root

Environment

Range
S. America. Probably a hybrid involving a wild species and S. acaule[4].
Habitat
Not known in the wild.
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
light shade
Water
moderate
Soil textures
sandy, loamy, clay
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a warm greenhouse. Prick out the seedlings into a fairly rich compost as soon as they are large enough to handle and grow them on fast. Plant them out after the last expected frosts. Division. Harvest the tubers in autumn after the top-growth has been cut back by frost. Store the tubers in a cool frost-free place overwinter and replant in April.

Cultivation

Succeeds in most soils[1]. Dislikes wet or heavy clay soils[2][5]. Prefers a slightly acid soil, the tubers are subject to scab on limy soils or those deficient in humus. Yields best on a fertile soil rich in organic matter. This plant is one of the S. American species of potatoes. This is one of the most frost hardy of potato species and grows in areas that can experience frosts on 300 days of the year[4]. It can probably be grown in much the same way as potatoes are grown by planting out the tubers in spring and harvesting in the autumn[K]. It is sometimes cultivated for its edible tubers in the Andes, mainly as insurance against cold weather[4]. Yields are quite low[4].Plants might have strict daylength requirements and may yield poorly in temperate zones because they need short-days in order to induce tuber-formation[4]. A pentaploid species, it produces fertile seed[4].

References

  1. F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00

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  2. Simons. New Vegetable Growers Handbook. Penguin 1977-00-00 ISBN 0-14-046-050-0

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  3. Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984-00-00 ISBN 3874292169

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  4. Popenoe. H. et al Lost Crops of the Incas National Academy Press 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-309-04264-X

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  5. Thompson. B. The Gardener's Assistant. Blackie and Son. 1878-00-00

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