Camote, sweet potato, Ipomoea batatas: Foods of the Mayan People: Root Crops

Sweet potato, camote, Ipomoea batatas today is a Superfood. 2000 years ago it was also part of the food of the Mayan people of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Belize.

In the 1930’s through 1950’s, most books on the Maya did not feature root crops in their list of food eaten by the Maya. Some may mention camote or malanga but all the emphasis is on maize, beans, and squash. It was not until Bennet Bronson’s article in 1966 that root crop research became popular.

FLAAR has found over a dozen roots used by the Maya. Plus a root crop listed by many authors is indeed edible, but none of our Mayan team’s families actually eat the root; they use only the leaves of this plant (Canna indica, accepted name for what used to be called Canna edulis). We raise Canna indica in our Maya ethnobotanical research garden plus we work together with people in Q’eqchi’, Kaqchiquel, and Pokomchi areas of Guatemala.

• AZURDIA, C.
• 2014
• Cultivos Nativos de Guatemala y Bioseguridad del uso de organismos vivos modificados. Camote (Ipomoea batatas). Consejo Nacional de Áreas Protegidas. Documento Técnico No. 6-2014. 30 pages.
  
  Available Online:
  www.bchguatemala.gob.gt/Members/Esolorzano/mis-docs-2014/modulos-de-cultivos-nativos-de-guatemala-y/Modulo%20Camote.pdf

• BRONSON, B.
• 1966
• Roots and the Subsistence of the Ancient Maya. Southwestern Journal of Anthropology. Vol. 22, No. 3. Pages 251-279.
  
  Note: in FLAAR we have a copy that was generously sent to us, if you want this article, please let us known so we can send it for free to you.

• CHANDRASEKARA, A. and T. J. KUMAR
• 2016
• Roots and tuber crops as functional foods: a review on phytochemical constituents and their potential health benefits. International Journal of Food Science. Vol. 2016, No. 3. Pages 1-16.
  
  Available Online:
  www.researchgate.net/publication/299604570_Roots_and_Tuber
  Crops_as_Functional_Foods_A_Review_on_Phytochemical
  Constituents_and_Their_Potential_Health_Benefits

• CORDÓN, V. J.
• 2015
• Evaluación del potencial de rendimiento de seis variedades biofortificadas de camote (Ipomoea batata), en caserio Quebradas Seca, Aldea Agua Zarca, municipio de Jocotán, Chiquimula. Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala. 63 pages.
  
  Available Online:
  http://cunori.edu.gt/descargas/EVALUACION_DEL_POTENCIAL
  DE_RENDIMIENTO_DE_SEIS_VARIEDADES
  BIOFORTIFICADAS_DE_CAMOTE.pdf

• DÍAZ, D. M.
• 2009
• Ipomoea: un género con tradición. ContactoS. No. 73. Pages 36-44.
  
  Available Online:
  www.izt.uam.mx/newpage/contactos/anterior/n73ne/ipomoea.pdf

• FRAILE, M. E., MARTÍNEZ, A., GARCÍA, M. D. and R. SLOMIANSKI
• 2008
• Nutritivas y apetecibles: conozca de leguminosas comestibles. Parte II. Tubérculos y algunos árboles interesantes. ContactoS. Vol. 68. Pages 56-62.
  
  Available Online:
  www.izt.uam.mx/newpage/contactos/anterior/n68ne/leguminosas.pdf

• GARCÍA, A., PÉREZ, M., GARCÍA, A. A. and P. MADRIZ
• 2016
• Caracterización postcosecha y composición química de la batata (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lamb.) variedad topera. Agronomía Mesoamericana. Vol. 27, No. 2. Pages 287-300.
  
  Available Online:
  www.researchgate.net/publication/304342952
  Caracterizacion_postcosecha_y_composicion_quimica
  de_la_batata_Ipomoea_batatas_L_Lamb_variedad
  Topera1?origin=publication_list

• GONZÁLEZ, G., GARCÍA, E., CASAS, A. and J. M. DUPUY
• 2014
• Conocimiento tradicional maya sobre la dinámica sucesional de la selva. Un caso de estudio en la Península de Yucatán. Etnobiología. Vol. 12, No. 1. Pages 60-67.
  
  Available Online:
  https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/5248320.pdf

• LENTZ, D. L., DUNNING, N. P., SCARBOROUGH, V. L., MAGEE, K. S., THOMPSON, K. M., WEAVER, E., CARR, C., TERRY, R., ISLEBE, G., TANKERSLEY, K., GRAZIOSO, L., JONES, J., BUTTLES, P., VALDEZ, F. and C. E. RAMOS
• 2014
• Forests, fields, and the edge of sustainability at the ancient Maya city of Tikal. PNAS. Vol. 111, No. 52. Pages 18513-18518.
  
  Available Online:
  www.pnas.org/content/111/52/18513.full.pdf

• LINARES, E., BYE, R., RAMIREZ, D. and R. PEREDA
• 2008
• El camote. CONABIO. Biodiversitas. Vol. 81, No. 3. Pages 11-15..
  
  Available Online:
  www.biodiversidad.gob.mx/Biodiversitas/Articulos/biodiv81art3.pdf

• LOEBENSTEIN, G. and G. THOTTAPPILLY
• 2009
• Origin, Distribution and Economic Importance, Chapter 2 in The Sweet potato. Springer. 522 pages.
  
  Available Online:
  www.researchgate.net/publication/226217377_Origin_Distribution and_Economic_Importance?ev=srch_pub
  
  Sold online:
  https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-40
  20-9475-0/page/1
  
  Note: only chapter 2 (pages 9-12) is available for free.

• MOHANRAJ, R. and S. SIVASANKAR
• 2014
• Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam) – A valuable medicinal food: a review. Journal of Medicinal Food. Vol. 17, No. 7. Pages 733-741.
  
  Available Online:
  www.researchgate.net/profile/Remya_Mohanraj2/
  publication/263096030_Sweet_Potato_Ipomoea
  batatas_L_Lam-A_Valuable_Medicinal_Food_A
  Review/links/54ee2b8b0cf2e55866f22c1a/
  Sweet-Potato-Ipomoea-batatas-L-Lam-A
  Valuable-Medicinal-Food-A-Review.pdf

• MORENO, R. A.
• 1979
• Intercropping with Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas) in Central America. Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE). Pages 243-259.
  
  Available Online:
  http://repositorio.bibliotecaorton.catie.ac.cr/bitstream/
  handle/11554/2575/Intercropping_with_sweet
  potato.pdf?sequence=1

• ROULLIER, C., DUPUTIÉ, A., WENNEKES, P., BENOIT, L., FERNÁNDEZ, V., ROSSEL, G., TAY, D., MCKEY, D. and V. LEBOT
• 2013
• Disentangling the Origins of Cultivated Sweet Potato (Ipomoeae batatas (L.) Lam.) PLoS ONE. Vol. 8, No. 5. Pages 1-22.
  
  Available Online:
  www.researchgate.net/publication/236978523
  Disentangling_the_Origins_of_Cultivated_Sweet
  Potato_Ipomoea_batatas_L_Lam

• SALAZAR, C., ZIZUMBO, D., COLUNGA, P. and S. BRUSH
• 2016
• Contemporary Maya Food System in the Lowlands of Northern Yucatan, Chapter 5 in Ethnobotany of Mexico. Springer. 560 pages.
  
  Available Online:
  www.researchgate.net/publication/301611420_Contemporary_Maya Food_System_in_the_Lowlands_of_Northern_Yucatan
  
  Sold online:
  www.amazon.com/Ethnobotany-Mexico-Interactions-
  Mesoamerica-Ethnobiology/dp/1461466687
  
  Note: only chapter 5 (pages 133-150) is available for free.

• SARCEÑO, A. J.
• 2015
• Adaptabilidad de cultivares de camote (Ipomoea batatas) en Motuya, Jutiapa. Tesis de Grado, Universidad Rafael Landívar. 67 pages.
  
  Available Online:
  http://recursosbiblio.url.edu.gt/tesisjcem/2015/06/03/Sarceno-Ana.pdf

www.conabio.gob.mx/malezasdemexico/convolvulaceae/ipomoea-batatas/fichas/ficha.htm
Information.

www.conabio.gob.mx/malezasdemexico/convolvulaceae/ipomoea-batatas/fichas/pagina1.htm
Photos.

www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=a587
Information and photos.

www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Ipomoea+batatas
Information.

www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/tro-8500721
List of synonyms.

www.peruecologico.com.pe/flo_camote_1.htm
Information.

First Posted September 2017