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Solanaceae FAMILY

Solanum juzepczukii

Solanum juzepczukii

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

The tubers contain glycoalkaloids and must be cooked or frozen before they can be eaten[1]. All Solanum species contain greater or lesser quantities of spirosolane alkaloids, including solanine and solanidine. These are bitter tasting and potentially poisonous when consumed frequently[2].

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

Solanum juzepczukii is a plant of high elevations in the tropics, usually found at elevations of 3,700 metres or more. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 6 - 14°c, but can tolerate 3 - 18°c[1]. It is said to be highly frost resistant, and can experience frosts on 300 days of the year[3, 4]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 600 - 1,200mm, but tolerates400 - 1,400mm[1]. Requires a sunny position. Succeeds in most soils, but grows best in a humus-rich, fertile, medium soil[1]. Dislikes wet or heavy clay soils[5, 6]. Prefers a pH in the range 6 - 7, tolerating 5.5 - 7.5[1]. Prefers a slightly acid soil, the tubers are subject to scab on limy soils or those deficient in humus. This plant is one of the S. American species of potatoes. It can probably be grown in much the same way as potatoes are grown by planting out the tubers in spring and harvesting in the autumn[PFAF]. The plant takes 150 - 195 days from planting out the tubers to harvesting a crop[1]. The plant has a shallow root system[1]. Yields are quite low[3]. Plants might have strict daylength requirements and may yield poorly in temperate zones because they need short-days in order to induce tuber-formation[3]. A triploid species, it does not produce fertile seed[3].

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a warm greenhouse. Prick out the seedlings into a fairly rich compost as soon as they are large enough to handle and grow them on fast. Plant them out after the last expected frosts. Division. Harvest the tubers in autumn after the top-growth has been cut back by frost. Store the tubers in a cool frost-free place overwinter and replant in mid spring. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Solanum+juzepczukii>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  2. [2]Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. — http://www.prota.org ↩︎An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
  3. [3]Lost Crops of the Incas — Popenoe. H. et al · National Academy Press · 1990 · ISBN 0-309-04264-X ↩︎An excellent book. Very readable, with lots of information and good pictures of some lesser known food plants of S. America.
  4. [4]Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants — http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 ↩︎Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
  5. [5]New Vegetable Growers Handbook. — Simons. · Penguin · 1977 · ISBN 0-14-046-050-0 ↩︎A good guide to growing vegetables in temperate areas, not entirely organic.
  6. [6]The Gardener's Assistant. — Thompson. B. · Blackie and Son. · 1878 · ISBN - ↩︎Excellent general but extensive guide to gardening practices in the 19th century. A very good section on fruits and vegetables with many little known species.
  7. [7]Solanaceae Source — http://solanaceaesource.org/ ↩︎Incredible detail on all the species in Solanum (now also including the Tomatoes which were formerly in Lycopersicon). The site will eventually include all other Genera within the Solanaceae.
  8. [8]Plants for Human Consumption. — Kunkel. G. · Koeltz Scientific Books · 1984 · ISBN 3874292169 ↩︎An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
  9. [9]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
  10. [10]Food Plants in the Americas: A Survey of the Domesticated, Cultivated, and Wild Plants Used for Human Food in North, — Kermath B.M.; Bennett B.C.' Pulsipher L.M. · 2014 ↩︎A pre-publication draft of an amazing, on-going work first started in 1985. It contains information on more than 3,900 taxa from the Americas - from Arctic regions to the Tropics
  11. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎