Plectranthus rotundifolius

Plectranthus rotundifolius
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Lamiaceae
Genus:	Plectranthus
Species:	P. rotundifolius
Binomial name
Plectranthus rotundifolius
Synonyms
Solenostemon rotundifolius

P. rotundifolius in bloom.

Plectranthus rotundifolius or Solenostemon rotundifolius is a perennial herbaceous plant of the mint family (Lamiaceae) native to tropical Africa. It is cultivated in parts of West Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia for its edible tubers. Wild varieties are found in the grasslands of East Africa.

In English, P. rotundifolius is often called "Chinese potato", "Coleus potato" or "Hausa potato". It is also referred to as "country potato" or "native potato", though these terms can also refer to the related species P. esculentus and P. edulis which are also cultivated as root crops in Africa. It goes by a wide variety of names in languages spoken in areas where it is grown.

Names

Vernacular names of Plectranthus rotundifolius
Region	Language	Term
International and Europe
	English	Chinese potato Coleus potato Hausa potato Frafra potato Madagascar potato Sudan potato native potato country potato
	French	pomme de terre de Madagascar pomme de terre du Soudan pomme de terre d'Afrique coléus à tubercules
Africa
	Dioula	fabirama
	Frafra	pesa, pessa
	Hausa	tumuku
	Mandinka Bambara	fa-birama. fabirama (fabourama) usu ni gé (oussou-ni-gué) usu ni fin (oussou-ni-fing)
	Minianka	fabirama
	Mossi (Mooré)	peinssa
South Asia
	Konkani	कूक kūka (kooka)
	Malayalam	കൂർക്ക kūrkka (koorka, koorkka)
	Sinhala	ඉන්නල innala
	Tamil	சிறு கிழங்கு ciṟu kiḻaṅku (siru kizhangu)
South East Asia
	Indonesian	kentang hitam kentang Jawa kentang kleci
	Javanese	kentang ireng
	Malay	ubi keling

References

• National Research Council (2006-10-27). "Native Potatoes". Lost Crops of Africa: Volume II: Vegetables. Lost Crops of Africa. 2. National Academies Press. ISBN 978-0-309-10333-6. http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11763&page=269. Retrieved 2008-07-15.