Potato

The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial nightshade Solanum tuberosum. Potato may be applied to both the plant and the edible tuber. Potatoes have become a staple food in many parts of the world and an integral part of much of the world's food supply. Potatoes are the world's fourth-largest food crop, following maize (corn), wheat, and rice. The green leaves and green skins of tubers exposed to the light are toxic.

The local importance of the potato is variable and changing rapidly. It remains an essential crop in Europe (especially eastern and central Europe), where per capita production is still the highest in the world, but the most rapid expansion over the past few decades has occurred in southern and eastern Asia. As of 2014, China led the world in potato production, and, together with India, produced 37% of the world's potatoes.