Potato papa or Solanum tuberosum,what is the fame of the Potato except Potato famines and more...

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Origin and Dissemination of Patato.

Potato Extract INCI Name Solanum Tuberosum Extract CAS 90083-08-2 EINECS ELINCS No 290-202-7 Irish potato tubers photo picture image More than 6,000 years ago in the high Andes of South America, people first domesticated the potato. In the 16th century, Spanish conquistadors brought the potato from Peru to Europe, but it wasn't until two centuries later that potatoes were introduced into the European diet. Today, potato is the fourth most important crop in developing countries after rice, wheat, and maize. More than 3 billion people consume potatoes.

It is a native of the Andes where it remained confined until the Spaniards found it and introduced it into Europe in about 1570. Ireland was the first country to cultivate potatoes to prevent famine among the poorest of the inhabitants. They were grown there probably during the first decade of the 17th century. This humble crop changed the course of human history, dispersing many Irishmen into the New World during the famous potato blight in 1836.
Potato Extract INCI Name Solanum Tuberosum Extract CAS 90083-08-2 EINECS ELINCS No 290-202-7 Irish potato tubers photo picture image

The potato was first cultivated in South America between three and seven thousand years ago, though scientists believe they may have grown wild in the region as long as 13,000 years ago. The genetic patterns of potato distribution indicate that the potato probably originated in the mountainous west-central region of the continent. According to Dr. Hector Flores, "the most probable place of origin of potatoes is located between the south of Peru and the northeast of Bolivia. The archaeological remains date from 400bc and have been found on the shores of Lake Titicaca...There are many expressions of the extended use of the potato in the pre-Inca cultures from the Peruvian Andes, as you can see in the Nazca and Chimu pottery." The crop diffused from Peru to the rest of the Andes and beyond.

Early Spanish chroniclers:who misused the Indian word batata (sweet potato) as the name for the potato,noted the importance of the tuber to the Incan Empire. The Incas had learned to preserve the potato for storage by dehydrating and mashing potatoes into a substance called chu?u. Chu?u could be stored in a room for up to 10 years, providing excellent insurance against possible crop failures. As well as using the food as a staple crop, the Incas thought potatoes made childbirth easier and used it to treat injuries.
Potato Extract INCI Name Solanum Tuberosum Extract CAS 90083-08-2 EINECS ELINCS No 290-202-7 Irish potato tubers photo picture image

In the 16th century, the Spaniards introduced it to the rest of the world. The name "Potato" came from the Yematasi word "potah'toh" or ground-fog berry (the original Quechua word was "papa"). The Spanish adopted the Quechuan name . The Spanish also traded with the Athabascans and the Yematasi trade groups and combined the two words 'papa' and "potah'toh" to get a new word 'patata'. Many other European languages took forms of this Spanish name. In the Americas, the word "papa" is more common in the Spanish language than "patata".

The Spanish conquistadors first encountered the potato when they arrived in Peru in 1532 in search of gold, and noted Inca miners eating chu u. At the time the Spaniards failed to realize that the potato represented a far more important treasure than either silver or gold, but they did gradually begin to use potatoes as basic rations aboard their ships. After the arrival of the potato in Spain in 1570, a few Spanish farmers began to cultivate them on a small scale, mostly as food for livestock.

From Spain, potatoes slowly spread to Italy and other European countries during the late 1500s. By 1600, the potato had entered Spain, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Holland, France, Switzerland, England, Germany, Portugal and Ireland. But it did not receive a warm welcome.

Throughout Europe, potatoes were regarded with suspicion, distaste and fear. Generally considered to be unfit for human consumption, they were used only as animal fodder and sustenance for the starving. In northern Europe, potatoes were primarily grown in botanical gardens as an exotic novelty. Even peasants refused to eat from a plant that produced ugly, misshapen tubers and that had come from a heathen civilization. Some felt that the potato plant's resemblance to plants in the nightshade family hinted that it was the creation of witches or devils.