Is Potato a Fruit or Vegetable?

Pick up a potato and you notice eyes with little lashes on it. In fact, the lashes look like tiny roots. Have you ever wondered why the potato has roots on it?

The potato is actually a stem. A stem in disguise, that grows under the ground!

Many plants are masters at adapting themselves to their surroundings. They can change their structure to suit their needs.

Just as we keep large vessels handy in the scorching summer to store water, plants deal with the problem in a smarter way. Their body parts have changed over a period of time so as to adjust to their surroundings. Thus, the potato plant has changed the shape and size of its stem to store food and water. And this storage is done under the ground where it is relatively cooler.

A typical plant’s body is made of three basic parts – root, stem and leaf. The root is generally hidden as it is under the ground. The stem is the tall, woody part, which gives support to the plant. The leaves are the green, flat and thin structures that manufacture food. However, all plants do not follow this pattern of division. In some, these parts of the plant’s body look very different from this description.

This kind of adaptation can be seen everywhere in the plant and animal kingdom. Take the onion, for example. It is actually a leaf, which has been modified to store food and water.

Similarly, the spines of a berry plant are actually its leaves. They have changed into this shape to protect it from plant-eating animals.

Cactus: king of adaptation

The cactus is an expert at adapting itself to its surroundings. It grows in dry and arid regions where there is very little rainfall. So it has converted its leaves into spines to protect it from animals. Its stem fulfills the two vital functions of storing water as well as manufacturing food.

The plant world is full of strange and wonderful adaptations. The next time you see potatoes in the vegetable market, you will know there is more to it than meets the eye. Literally!

365 words | 3 minutes
Readability: Grade 6 (11-12 year old children)
Based on Flesch–Kincaid readability scores

Filed under: 5ws and h
Tags: #potatoes, #roots, #cactus

You may also be interested in these:
The Importance of the Mangrove Forest
The Apple Tree
Distress Signals the Leafy Way
Killing a Tree Softly
Which Insects Live the Longest?