Tests on Captain Cook's sweet potato fuel row over how crop reached Polynesia

[muriel_volestrangler]

While some have suggested that the plant’s presence points to communication between inhabitants of the two regions, the latest study suggests it is more likely that seeds of the sweet potato simply floated across the Pacific on sea currents.

That, they write, is backed up by the fact that a wild relative of the sweet potato found in Polynesia, but not America, appears to have split from American species more than a million years ago – ruling out human transport. The seed pods of this plant, the authors note, are very similar to those of sweet potatoes, suggesting that it, too, could have travelled around the world on the waves.

Further evidence for the idea came from a sweet potato collected by the naturalist Joseph Banks during Captain Cook’s voyage to Polynesia in 1769. “[It is] the oldest sweet potato specimen known from Polynesia,” said Muñoz-Rodríguez.

This variety is only found in Polynesia, but the genetic data shows that it split from its closest relative, an American variety, more than 100,000 years ago – long before modern humans colonised the islands.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/apr/12/tests-on-captain-cooks-sweet-potato-fuels-row-over-how-crop-reached-polynesia

[marble falls]

1. One man's sweet potato is another man's yam....

What’s The Difference Between Sweet Potatoes and Yams?

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/25/difference-between-sweet-potatoes-and-yams_n_1097840.html

Before you reach for the candied yams this Thanksgiving, there’s something you need to know. They’re not actually yams! All this time, many Americans have been making the mistake of calling sweet potatoes “yams.” But there’s actually a difference. It turns out sweet potatoes and yams are not even related. They are two different species of root vegetable with very different backgrounds and uses.

So why the confusion? The U.S. government has perpetuated the error of labeling sweet potatoes “yams.” In most cases sweet potatoes are labeled with both terms, which just adds to the confusion. Since there are two types of sweet potatoes, one with creamy white flesh and one with orange, the USDA labels the orange-fleshed ones “yams” to distinguish them from the paler variety. Ok, so that sort of makes sense. But why call the orange-fleshed ones “yams” in the first place? So to understand the difference between yams and sweet potatoes, we have to dig a little deeper (tuber pun intended).

Sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) come in two main varieties here in the States. One has a golden skin with creamy white flesh and a crumbly texture. The other has a copper skin with an orange flesh that is sweet and soft. All sweet potato varieties generally have the same shape and size — they are tapered at the ends and much smaller than the aforementioned yams.

Americans have been calling the orange-fleshed variety of sweet potatoes “yams” since colonial times when Africans saw familiarities in them to the tuberous variety. The USDA decided to label them as “yams” to differentiate the two varieties. Both varieties of sweet potato, including “yams” can be widely found in supermarket.

Yams (family Dioscoreaceae) are native to Africa and Asia and other tropical regions. Yams are starchy tubers that have an almost black bark-like skin and white, purple or reddish flesh and come in many varieties. The tubers can be as small as regular potatoes or grow upwards of five feet long.

The word yam comes from an African word, which means “to eat.” The yam holds great importance as a foodstuff because it keeps for a long time in storage and is very valuable during the wet season, when food is scarce. For eating, yams are typically peeled, boiled and mashed or dried and ground into a powder that can be cooked into a porridge. Yams can be found in international markets, such as those that specialize in Caribbean foods.

For more information on sweet potatoes, visit the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission.

For more on the nutritional value of sweet potatoes vs. yams, visit Livestrong.com.

[CottonBear]

2. I am currently reading Kon Tiki.

The author theorized that sweet potato plants and coconut palms were first brought to Polynesia from South America by the first people to travel across the Pacific Ocean by wooden raft. Of course, the Kon Tiki voyage was in the late 1940s and the research has revealed new findings since that time.