 A selection of Chiloé's roughly 400 native varieties of potatoes | |
| Type | Potato |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Chile |
TheChiloé Archipelago is home to a wide variety ofpotatoes. After theTiticaca region ofPeru andBolivia, it is the geographical nucleus where the most different types of potatoes are found. Evidence ranging from historical records, local agriculturalists, andDNA analyses strongly supports the hypothesis that the most widely cultivated variety of potato worldwide,Solanum tuberosum tuberosum, is indigenous to the Chiloé Archipelago, and has been cultivated by the localindigenous people since before theSpanish conquest.[1][2] Unlike potatoes from Peru and Bolivia, the potatoes of Chiloé are adapted to the long summer days of the higher latitude region of southern Chile.[1][3] After the disastrousEuropean Potato Failure in the 1840s, strains originating in the Chiloé Archipelago replaced earlier potatoes of Peruvian origin in Europe.[3]
The potatoes of Chiloé are important elements ofChilotefolk medicine and features inChilote mythology.[3]
HistorianRenato Cárdenas and botanistCarolina Villagrán counted about "300 names used for potatoes grown in Chiloé at different times".[4] Local varieties includeBruja morada,[5]Camota,[6]Chochoca,[3]Clavela lisa,[3]Güencha,[7]Pachacoña,[8]Caballera,[9]Cabrita,[citation needed]Cabra,[10]Michuñe Azul,[5][10]Michuñe negra,[3]Michuñe roja,[5][10]Huicaña,[11]Viscocha.[3]
Some potatoes varieties developed abroad have also been introduced to Chiloé, but not all of these have been successful in adapting, despite their putative high yields.[4] Cultivation of thecoraíla variety introduced by Servando Coraíl was dominant in the early 20th century, but discontinued when the cultivar was repeatedly struck bypotato blight in the 1950s and 1960s.[4]
Preservation efforts of the many varieties began in the 1960s when agronomistAndrés Contreras travelled Chiloé Archipelago in search of small gardens where local elderly women had grown potatoes over many generations.[3] At presentAustral University of Chile inValdivia hosts agene bank of the potatoes of Chiloé.[3]
Some of the potatoes of Chiloé also grow in the wild inGuaitecas Archipelago, although there is some uncertainty as to when and how potatoes arrived there.[12] The Guaitecas Archipelago formed the southern limit ofPre-Hispanic agriculture[13] as noted by the mention of the cultivation of potatoes by a Spanish expedition in 1557.[12] In 1834, during thesecond voyage of HMS Beagle,Charles Darwin collected potatoes from Guaitecas.[12]
Potatoes grow beside the sea in aherbaceous zone. The wild potatoes that grow in the archipelago are mostly found in its western part. Apparently these potatoes do not reproduce by seeds and rarely produce flowers and fruits.[12] Potatoes grow in zones of disturbance, mainly in the herbaceous zone near the coast that is affected by winter storms.[12]
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1: These islands are not part ofChiloé Province | |||||||||