The potato is a starchy tuberous vegetable that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant Solanum tuberosum, a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae.
Like the tomato and the nightshades, the potato is in the genus Solanum; the aerial parts of the potato contain the toxin solanine. Normal potato tubers that have been grown and stored properly produce glycoalkaloids in negligible amounts, but, if sprouts and potato skins are exposed to light, tubers can become toxic.
