wild potato

noun

1. a plant, Solanum jamesii, of the southwestern U.S., related to the edible cultivated potato.
2. man-of-the-earth.

Word History and Origins

Origin of wild potato¹

An Americanism dating back to 1765–75

Example Sentences

The effort on wild potatoes, which wraps up this month, has yielded a collection representing 39 species from six nations: Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Chile.

From Science Magazine

“It’s those genes from the wild potatoes. You never know what you could find,” he said.

From Washington Times

Krakauer suggests in his book that he was poisoned by a toxic alkaloid on wild potato seeds that he ate.

From The New Yorker

We had lunch along the creek—stewed mussels and wild potatoes.

From Literature

McCandless kept journals and photographs of his quest, up to his last few hours when he knew that he would die of poisoning from seeds of a wild potato plant.

From Washington Times