Solanum tuberosum

High school (ages 12+)
Food & Cooking

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/solanum-tuberosum

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Solanum tuberosum
2. What is the center of origin and domestication?Andes Mountains region of South America (estimated 7,000-10,000 years ago)
3. Where did potatoes first grow?Potatoes were first grown in the high‑altitude Andes near modern‑day Peru and Bolivia. Farmers there domesticated them about 7,000 to 10,000 years ago.
4. How did potatoes become popular in Europe?Spanish explorers brought potatoes to Europe in the late 16th century. At first people used them as animal feed or for the poor, but soon they learned the potato was nutritious and could grow on bad land.

Domestication: The process by which wild plants or animals are adapted over generations for human use.
Landrace: A locally adapted, traditional variety of a plant species, often with a long history of cultivation.
Phytophthora infestans: A destructive oomycete pathogen that causes late blight, famously devastating the Irish potato crop.
Caloric Yield: The amount of energy (calories) produced per unit of land area for a specific crop.