The Impact of the Potato

Jeff Chapman relates the story of history the most important vegetableA The potato was first cultivated in South America between three and seven thousand years ago, though scientists believe they may have grown wild in the region as long as 13,000 years ago. The genetic patterns of potato distribution indicate that the potato probably originated in the mountainous west-central region of the continent.B Early Spanish chroniclers who misused the Indian word batata (sweet potato) as the n...