COLUMBUS HAD NO IDEA how much he would change the world when he landed on what he thought was the East Indian island shore. Thanks to his confused sense of geography, several garden staples spread across the world, notably maize, tomatoes, peppers, Irish potatoes, and the unsung hero of the garden – sweet potatoes.
Sweet potatoes, or yams as many people call them, create more than a little confusion with their name. They’re not yams at all – African vegetables related to lilies, which are never grown in America – and they aren’t even related to Irish, or “true,” potatoes, either. They are, however, the first vegetable to be called “potato,” thanks to their Native American name, “batatas.” Their botanical name, Ipomoea batatas, reflects that early name.
Ipomoea includes morning…
