Most sweet potato vines produce potatoes (they are actually called tubers). While they are all technically edible, they are not all worthy of a spot on your dinner table.
Which sweet potato is edible?
Yes, ornamental sweet potatoes are edible! Ornamental sweet potato tubers are, indeed, sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas). That said, ornamental sweet potato tubers are planted for their lovely chartreuse, purple, or variegated trailing foliage that serves as the perfect counterpoint to offset annual blooms.
How can you tell if a sweet potato is edible?
Once the stems reach a few inches long, snip them off the tuber and place these cuttings in another jar of water. Wait another 1-2 weeks for them to root, then they'll be ready to plant. This works for edible sweet potatoes as well.
Can sweet potatoes be poisonous?
Poisoning could occur days after starting to eat a supply of sweet potatoes as the tubers start to degrade. Clinical signs can occur within a few hours of ingestion of damaged potatoes, 24 h or several days after ingestion. Recovery can take 4-12 days.
Can ornamental sweet potatoes be eaten?
The bottom line is that ornamental sweet potatoes are bred specifically for their foliage, whether it be bright purple or vivid green. They produce fleshy, tuberous roots like their edible counterparts, but the quality of the tubers is generally not suitable for eating.
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