Editing Potato (section)

== Phylogeny ==

Like the [[tomato]], potatoes belong to the genus ''[[Solanum]]'', which is a member of the nightshade family, the [[Solanaceae]]. That is a diverse family of flowering plants, often poisonous, that includes the mandrake (''[[Mandragora (genus)|Mandragora]]''), deadly nightshade (''[[Atropa]]''), and tobacco (''[[Nicotiana]]''), as shown in the outline phylogenetic tree (many branches omitted). The most commonly cultivated potato is ''S. tuberosum''; there are several other species.<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Olmstead RG, et al|title=Phylogeny and provisional classification of the Solanaceae based on chloroplast DNA|journal=Solanaceae|volume=4|issue=1|year=1999|pages=1–137|url= https://bohs.biology.utah.edu/PDFs/Olmstead_et_al-1999.pdf}}</ref>

{{clade
|label1=[[Solanaceae]]
|1={{clade
   |1= many garden flowers and other species
   |2={{clade
      |1=''[[Nicotiana]]'' (tobacco)
      |2={{clade
         |1=''[[Atropa]]'' (nightshades)
         |2={{clade
            |1=''[[Mandragora (genus)|Mandragora]]'' (mandrake)
            |2={{clade
               |label1=''[[Capsicum]]'' 
               |1=&nbsp;(sweet and bell peppers)
               |label2=''[[Solanum]]''
               |2={{clade
                  |1=''[[Solanum lycopersicum|S. lycopersicum]]'' (tomato)
                  |2='''''S. tuberosum''''' (cultivated potato)
                  }}
               }}
            }}
         }}
      }}
   }}
}}

[[File:Solanum tuberosum - michuñe.JPG|thumb|A variety of ''S. tuberosum tuberosum'', the Chilean potato]]

The major species grown worldwide is ''S. tuberosum'' (a [[tetraploid]] with 48 [[chromosome]]s), and modern varieties of this species are the most widely cultivated. There are also four [[diploid]] species (with 24 chromosomes): ''S. stenotomum<!--redirects here-->'', ''S. phureja<!--redirects here-->'', ''S. goniocalyx'', and ''S. ajanhuiri''. There are two [[triploid]] species (with 36 chromosomes): ''[[Solanum chaucha |S. chaucha]]'' and ''S. juzepczukii''. There is one [[pentaploid]] cultivated species (with 60 chromosomes): ''S. curtilobum''.<ref name="Raker Spooner 2002"/> 

There are two major subspecies of ''S. tuberosum''.<ref name="Raker Spooner 2002">{{cite journal |last1=Raker |first1=Celeste M. |last2=Spooner |first2=David M. |year=2002 |title=Chilean Tetraploid Cultivated Potato, ''Solanum tuberosum'' is Distinct from the Andean Populations: Microsatellite Data |url=http://crop.scijournals.org/cgi/reprint/42/5/1451.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=[[Crop Science (journal) |Crop Science]] |volume=42 |doi=10.2135/cropsci2002.1451 |id=[[University of Wisconsin]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326171403/http://crop.scijournals.org/cgi/reprint/42/5/1451.pdf |archive-date=26 March 2009 |access-date=16 July 2010 |issn=0011-183X }}</ref> The Andean potato, ''S. tuberosum andigena'', is adapted to the short-day conditions prevalent in the mountainous equatorial and tropical regions where it originated. The Chilean potato ''S. tuberosum tuberosum'', native to the [[Chiloé Archipelago]], is in contrast adapted to the long-day conditions prevalent in the higher latitude region of southern Chile.<ref name="Rodríguez"/>