Four Corners potato (Solanum jamesii)

Solanum jamesii

root

Tiny marble-sized tubers, cooked with a white clay that absorbs their bitterness, among the Navajo and Hopi.

Origin

Plateaus of the southwestern United States (Four Corners)

Where to find it

It is found mostly around old Ancestral Puebloan sites, who may have cultivated it; researchers study it for its taste and hardiness.

Season (United States)

August to October

Preparation

Always cooked, never green: like the potato, it is a nightshade, and the clay served to bind its bitter alkaloids.

Molecules

In small amounts, not counted Insoluble fibers

Did you know?

Traces have been found on stone tools nearly 11,000 years old: the oldest potato eaten in North America.