Native to Peru, as is the white potato, the sweet potato rapidly traveled
to other parts of South America as well as to Mexico, and possibly was
taken by sea to the islands of the mid-Pacific and on to New Zealand, long
before Columbus. A staple in the island nation of Papua New Guinea, the
sweet potato is also important in several Asian countries, particularly
as a fall-back food if the rice crop fails. China grows most of the world’s
crop. Sweet potatoes in many guises are popular in Japan where specialized
restaurants serve all-sweet-potato items.
A U.S. southern standby, the sweet potato was another crop nurtured
by African slaves. The sweet potato improved soils depleted by the growing
of cotton.
No, the sweet potato is not a yam and a yam is not a sweet potato. A yam is a tropical plant not grown in the continental United States, and not generally found even in Hawaii.
Sweet potato plants (Else Bostelmann, The World In Your Garden)
Planting sweet potatoes, Edisto Island, South Carolina, USA c.
1862.
(NY Historical Society Photo)
Sweet potato harvest, Jacksonville, Texas, USA , 1913. (HFCA)
1909 exaggerated postcard, Martin Post Card Co. ( HFCA)