Potato

The potato is the seed tuber of the potato plant. It is used as a staple food.

History
Te potato hat it's origin in southern Peru and spread from there over large parts of South America. It was introduced to Europe during the 16th century, probably via the Canary islands and Spain. In the beginning the potato was mainly planted in gardens for its nice flowers, cultivation as a field crop in Europe began in the 17th and 18th century. Due to lack of genetic diversity the crop was vulnerable to disease. In 1845, a plant disease known as late blight spread rapidly through the poorer communities of western Ireland, resulting in the crop failures that led to the Great Irish Famine.