Sweet potato is grown throughout the tropical and warm temperate regions. The crop just requires sufficient water and little attention for their successful cultivation. The tuberous root features oblong/elongated shape with tapering ends and has smooth outer skin whose color may range from red, purple, brown, and white, depending upon the cultivar type.

Sweet potatoes should not be confused with yams, another starchy root widely grown in Western Africa. Yams are indeed larger in size and can weigh up to 120 pounds in weight and 2 meters in length. Yams are tropical crops and indeed never grow where the temperature dips below 68 degrees F. Important differentiating features that distinguish sweet potatoes from yams are:

Sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) are dicotyledonous, relatively smaller and possess very thin peel.

Whereas, yams are monocotyledons, larger, feature thick, rough, dark brown to pink skin depending upon the cultivar type.

Internally, sweet potato has starchy, sweet flesh which, depending upon the pigment concentration, ranges from white through yellow, orange, and purple.

Boniatos, also known as Cuban sweet potatoes, feature dry, starchy flesh underneath the reddish-brown skin. They have mildly sweet flavor and cooked in similar fashion like potatoes.

Sweet potato greens are also edible. In fact, the tender shoots and leaves contain more nutrients and dietary fiber than some of the popular green leafy vegetables like spinach.