Food plant ( Ipomoea batatas ; family Convolvulaceae) native to tropical America and widely cultivated in tropical and warm temperate climates.
Botanically unrelated to the white, or Irish, potato or the yam , sweet potatoes are oblong or pointed oval, tuberous roots. Skin colour ranges from light buff to brown to purplish red; the pulp may be white (highest in starch) to orange (also high in carotene ) to purple. Long, trailing plant stems bear funnel-shaped flowers tinged with pink or rose violet. Sweet potatoes are served baked or mashed and used as pie filling.