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*The Sweet Potato – A Talk
Tuesday, 24th March 2020, 19:00 - 21:00
Please note this event has been postponed to later in the year, all current tickets holders will be valid for the re-scheduled date.
Sweet potato is among the most consumed crops worldwide and a staple in many developing countries. This crop of American origin is now cultivated in all tropical and subtropical regions of the Globe for its edible storage roots, which are able to grow in poor dry soils with minimum labour.
In the first part of this talk, Pablo will present his research on the origin and evolution of the sweet potato in the context of a worldwide study of the morning glories —the plant family to which the sweet potato belongs —conducted at Oxford. He will pay special attention to the question: is the edible storage root in sweet potato the result of human domestication? In the second part of his talk, he will focus on another question that has been of interest for scientists for over two centuries: how did sweet potato, a crop of American origin, come to be widespread across the Pacific islands by the time Europeans first arrived?
Pablo Muñoz-Rodriguez, Department of Plant Sciences, Oxford University
Tuesday 24th March 7.00 pm £10 refundable deposit
*Please note: this event is free thanks to funding from City Bridge Trust for our Botany on Your Plate project, but we ask for a deposit to secure your place, we would welcome donations towards our work – Thank you.
