Plectranthus rotundifolius

Plectranthus rotundifolius
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Lamiaceae
Genus:	Plectranthus
Species:	P. rotundifolius
Binomial name
Plectranthus rotundifolius Spreng.
Synonyms[1]
Calchas parviflorus (Benth.) P.V.Heath Coleus dysentericus Baker Coleus pallidiflorus A.Chev. Coleus parviflorus Benth. Coleus rehmannii Briq. Coleus rotundifolius (Poir.) A.Chev. & Perrot Coleus rugosus Benth. Coleus salagensis Gürke Coleus ternatus (Sims) A.Chev. Coleus tuberosus (Blume) Benth. Germanea rotundifolia Poir. Majana tuberosa (Blume) Kuntze Nepeta madagascariensis Lam. Plectranthus coppinii Cornu Plectranthus coppinii Heckel Plectranthus ternatus Sims Plectranthus tuberosus Blume Solenostemon rotundifolius (Poir.) J.K.Morton

P. rotundifolius flowers.

P. rotundifolius tubers, with ruler.

Plectranthus rotundifolius or Solenostemon rotundifolius, commonly known as native or country potato in Africa and called "Chinese potato" in India is a perennial herbaceous plant of the mint family (Lamiaceae) native to tropical Africa. It is cultivated for its edible tubers primarily in West Africa, as well as more recently in parts of Asia, especially India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Indonesia.^[2]

P. rotundifolius is closely related to the coleus plants widely cultivated as ornamentals and is often classified as a member of the genus Solenostemon rather than Plectranthus. It was formerly placed in the now-defunct genus Coleus, most of whose members have now been re-assigned to the genus Solenostemon.

Use and cultivation

The egg-shaped tubers of the native potato appear very similar to the unrelated true potato, though they are smaller than modern commercial varieties. They are typically boiled but may also be roasted, baked or fried. Their flavor is bland but sweeter than P. esculentus.^[2]

Native potato is overwhelmingly a subsistence crop, though flour milling is reported in Burkina Faso^[2]

P. rotundifolius is one of three Plectranthus species native to Africa grown for their edible tubers and using the same vernacular names. The others, P. esculentus and P. edulis, native to southern Africa and Ethiopia respectively, have not spread beyond Africa.

Names

Vernacular names of Plectranthus rotundifolius
Region	Language	Term
International and Europe
	English	Chinese, country, Coleus, Frafra, Hausa, native, Sudan, or Zulu potato
	French	pomme de terre de Madagascar, du Soudan ou d'Afrique coléus à tubercules
Africa
	Chad	ngaboyo
	Dioula, Minianka	fabirama, fabourama
	Frafra (Gurenne)	pesa, pessa
	Hausa	tumuku
	Mandinka, Bambara	fa-birama. fabirama (fabourama) usu ni gé (oussou-ni-gué) usu ni fin (oussou-ni-fing)
	Mossi (Mooré)	peinssa
South Asia
	Kannada	ಸಂಬ್ರಾಲಿ saṃbrāli (sambrali)
	Konkani	कूक kūka (kooka)
	Malayalam	കൂർക്ക kūrkka (koorka, koorkka)
	Sinhala	ඉන්නල innala
	Tamil	சிறு கிழங்கு ciṟu kiḻaṅku (siru kizhangu)
South East Asia
	Indonesian	kentang hitam, Jawa, or kleci
	Javanese	kentang ireng
	Malay	ubi keling, ubi kemili

References

1. "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species". Retrieved 12 June 2015.
2. National Research Council (2006). Lost crops of Africa: Volume II: Vegetables. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press. pp. 269–285. ISBN 0-309-66582-5.