Field ManualAll plants

Photo: Bff, via Wikimedia CommonsLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0

Potato

Solanum tuberosum

Family: SolanaceaeOrigin: Andean South America

  • Root/Tuber Crop
  • Cool Season

Pet & Human Safety

Toxic to people and pets
Human edibility
Edible with preparation
Edible parts
tuber
Hazardous parts
sprout, peel (when green or bitter-tasting), green-tinged flesh
Preparation
Store tubers in dark, cool, dry conditions. Cut away and discard sprouts, green skin, and any green-tinged flesh before cooking; do not eat a potato that is extensively green.
Hazard type
glycoalkaloids (solanine and chaconine)
Hazard route
ingestion
How complete this information is
The safety information on this page is complete as far as our sources go. That is not a statement that the plant is safe.

Toxic to pets
Toxic to pets

The tuber flesh itself (once cooked, without green portions) is the food crop and not a hazard. The risk is the green parts: foliage, stems, sprouts ('eyes'), and any green-tinted skin on the tuber. Clemson HGIC's own wording: 'Green portions on potatoes are poisonous, taste bitter, and contain an alkaloid': Clemson does not itself name the alkaloid as solanine. The alkaloid is commonly identified elsewhere (broader toxicology literature, and ASPCA's same-genus tomato entry, which does name solanine as its toxic principle) as a solanine/chaconine-type glycoalkaloid. Pet-facing signs, by analogy to ASPCA's tomato listing (same genus, Solanum, same toxic-principle class, in ASPCA's own words): 'Hypersalivation, inappetence, severe gastrointestinal upset, depression, weakness, dilated pupils, slow heart rate.' Keep pets away from potato plants in the garden and don't feed green or sprouted potatoes.

Poison control

If someone has collapsed, cannot be woken, is having a seizure or has trouble breathing, call 911 now. For any other possible poisoning, call Poison Help: 1-800-222-1222.

Emergency number source: U.S. federal law (47 U.S.C. § 251(e)(3)), read 2026-10-07.

Naturalist Lore

Historical Background & Breeding Lore

The history of this plant and its name, and how it was bred, where we have them.

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Care

Hardiness zones

Grown as a cool-season annual in all US zones

Mature size

Foliage: 1-3 ft. Grown in rows, plants spaced roughly 10 in apart.

Soil & Drainage
Pruning & Flush Rhythm
Feeding Schedule

How to prepare the soil, when and what to feed, and how and when to prune where that applies.

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Anatomy & Guilds

Botanical Anatomy & Characteristics

How the flowers and leaves are built and which pollinators visit, where we have them.

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Field Doctor

Field Doctor

What can go wrong with this plant and what to do about it, where we have them.

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Vintage Plates

Vintage Plates

Old botanical drawings from public libraries are in the app, for plants where we have them.

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Sources

  1. Clemson HGIC, Potato
  2. ASPCA, Toxic and Non-toxic Plants: Tomato Plant (a different species in the same genus Solanum, used for corroboration)
  3. UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions, 'Applying Fertilizer to Vegetables'
  4. World Health Organization, Natural toxins in food (fact sheet)

How we choose sources

Wishlists live in the app

Wishlists are part of the Plot & Petal app, which is coming soon. Nothing is added to a wishlist from this page.

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