Ajanhuiri
Solanum ajanhuiri
Family: Solanaceae
What it is like
Solanum ajanhuiri is a PERENNIAL. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10 and is frost tender. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs). Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil and can tolerate drought.
Height (m): 0
Where it is found
Found in very cool windy sites in the Andes at elevations between 2800 - 4100 metres.
S. America - Bolivia and Peru, in the Andes.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 2
Root - cooked. The tubers have a high content of dry matter and are a good source of vitamin C. Most forms are bitter and are sweetened by being made into 'chuño' (a method of freeze-drying the tubers). There are some forms with sweet and floury tubers.
Root: includes bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes etc.
Medicine
Rating: 0
Vitamin C: Plants good for their vitamin C content
Other
Rating:
How it is grown
Succeeds in most soils. Dislikes wet or heavy clay soils. 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. Tolerates hail and, once established, drought. This plant is one of the S. American species of potatoes, it is possibly a hybrid S. stenototum x S. megistacrolobum. It is more frost hardy than the common potato, tolerating temperatures down to about -5°c, and 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. It is cultivated for its tubers in the Andes, there are several forms but only one, called 'sisu' is not bitter - there are blue and white tuber varieties of this form. Plants can produce tubers in 5 - 6 months from planting out. Plants might have strict daylength requirements and may yield poorly in temperate zones because they need short-days in order to induce tuber-formation. A diploid species, it rarely produces fertile seed and even then only in small quantities. It is resistant to viral diseases and round-cyst nematode and is immune to Synchytrium black wart. The tubers store well.
Propagating it: 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.
Best place to grow: Cultivated Beds;
Habit: Perennial
Hardiness: 9-11
Growth:
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: Semi-shade, no shade
Moisture: Moist
Things to keep in mind
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.