Sweet Potato

*Ipomoea batatas*

How to know it

A sprawling ground vine with heart shaped or lobed leaves and occasional pale purple flowers like a small morning glory. The edible tuber forms below ground.

What it does

The tuber is a staple across the tropics. The young leaves and shoots are also cooked as a green vegetable in many parts of the region, which most people do not realise. It grows in poor soil and needs very little care.

Safety

Safe. Both tuber and leaves are edible cooked.

Two things to do with children

Suspend a sweet potato half in a jar of water with toothpicks. It sprouts vines within a fortnight on a windowsill, needs no soil, and gives daily visible change.

Ask children where they think the potato grows on the plant. Most guess it hangs like a fruit. Digging one up settles it.