Colorado Wild Potato, Wild potato
Solanum jamesii
Family: Solanaceae
What it is like
Solanum jamesii is a PERENNIAL growing to 0.2 m (0ft 8in). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 9 and is frost tender. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Insects. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.
Height (m): 0.2
Where it is found
Coniferous forests, 1600 - 2500 metres in Arizona.
South-western N. America.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 2
Tubers - raw or cooked. The tubers are rich in starch but are quite small, averaging only about 3cm in diameter. The tubers range in size from a pea to a walnut. There is a bitterness in the tuber, this is concentrated near the skin. They can be stored for several months or can be sliced thinly, dried and ground into a powder for making bread etc. The Hopi Indians cook them or eat them raw with a saline clay in order to counteract the astringency and also use them in making yeast. The tubers are rather fiddly to harvest, apart from their small size they are also produced at the tips of roots, often at some distance from the parent plant.
Root: includes bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes etc.
Medicine
Rating: 0
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. Not very hardy in Britain, but plants can be grown as half-hardy perennials, the tubers being planted out in April and harvested in the autumn after the top growth has died down.
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: 8-11
Growth:
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
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.