Some sprouting potatoes I’d left too long in the depths of
my pantry were eventually discovered and ended-up in the compost bin, where
they grew prolifically. They flowered and produced fruit very similar to unripe
tomatoes. It was the first time I’d seen such a thing and it lead me on an amazing
journey of discovery I wanted to share with others who (as I was until very
recently) might not be familiar with Solanum, TPS, and Solanaceae alkaloids.
According to Joseph Lofthouse, a man who strikes me as being
both pragmatic and a learned survivalist (and with regards to this post, seed
propagator), “Potato seeds are harvested
from potato fruits. The pollinated seeds are called "True Potato
Seed" (TPS) to differentiate them from "seed potatoes" which are
genetically identical clones of a tuber.”
Landrace Gardening: True Potato Seeds (Joseph Lofthouse,
Courtesy of Mother Earth News)
http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/potato-seeds-zbcz1307
What fruit is growing on my potato plants? (Michigan State University)
http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/what_are_those_fruit_growing_on_my_potato_plants
What is a Potato Fruit; From the Ground Up (University of Wyoming)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlUruv7xjeA
http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/potato-seeds-zbcz1307
What fruit is growing on my potato plants? (Michigan State University)
http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/what_are_those_fruit_growing_on_my_potato_plants
What is a Potato Fruit; From the Ground Up (University of Wyoming)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlUruv7xjeA
The Wiki lowdown (boom! You know it);
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato_fruit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato_fruit
Digressing here;
Some interesting plants belonging to the Solanaceae family include;
Peppers (27 species)
Genus: Capsicum - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsicum
Example: Bonnet Pepper (Capsicum chinense) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsicum_chinense
Tobacco (10 species)
Genus: Nicotiana - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotiana
Example: (Nicotiana tabacum) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotiana_tabacum
Nightshade (5 Species)
Genus: Atropa - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atropa
Example: Deadly Nightshade (Atropa Belladonna) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atropa_belladonna
Mandrake (5 species)
Genus: Mandragora - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandragora_(genus)
Example: (Mandragora officinarum) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandragora_officinarum
Datura (9 species)
Genus: Datura - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datura
Example: Jimsonweed (Datura stramonium) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datura_stramonium
Henbane (11 species)
Genus: Hyoscyamus - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyoscyamus
Example: Black Henbane (Hyoscyamus niger) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyoscyamus_niger
