Common Name:

General Information

Solanum maglia is an erect, herbaceous perennial plant growing from a stoloniferous rootstock with tubers typically borne singly at the end of each stolon; the plant can grow around 50 - 150cm tall
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food.

Known Hazards

Although providing many well-known foods for people, including the potato, tomato, pepper and aubergine, most species in this genus also contain toxic alkaloids. Whilst these alkaloids can make the plant useful in treaing a range of medical conditions, they can also cause problems such as nausea, vomiting, salivation, drowsiness, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, weakness and respiratory depression[].
Unless there are specific entries with information on edible uses, it would be unwise to ingest any part of this plant[].

Botanical References

Range

S. America - western Argentina, central and southern Chile.

Habitat

Humid coastal valleys, among rocks and sand, at elevations from sea level to around 1,200 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Habit	Perennial
Height	0.70 m
Pollinators	Insects
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Succeeds in most soils[]. Dislikes wet or heavy clay soils[, ]. Prefers a slightly acid soil, the tubers are subject to scab on limy soils or those deficient in humus. Yields best on a fertile soil rich in organic matter.
This plant is one of the S. American species of potatoes. It is not frost hardy but can probably be grown in much the same way as potatoes are grown by planting out the tubers in spring and harvesting in the autumn[]. Plants might have strict daylength requirements and may yield poorly in temperate zones because they need short-days in order to induce tuber-formation[].
The plant flowers and produces fruit throughout the year in lowland Chile[].

Edible Uses

Root - raw or cooked[, ]. Rich in starch, this is a type of potato. The tubers are rather small and have a slightly bitter flavour[].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a warm greenhouse. Prick out the seedlings into a fairly rich compost as soon as they are large enough to handle and grow them on fast. Plant them out after the last expected frosts.
Division. Harvest the tubers in autumn after the top-growth has been cut back by frost. Store the tubers in a cool frost-free place overwinter and replant in mid spring.