The Potatoes of South America: Bolivia

Description

This authoritative and scholarly treatise on the potatoes of Bolivia provides a definitive guide to the rich diversity and taxonomy of this important group of plants. The volume represents the culmination of a lifetime's study of these potatoes by Carlos Ochoa, and is published in collaboration with the International Potato Center in Lima, Peru. As such, it represents a definitive guide to these potatoes and is the first to be prepared under the auspices of a South American botanist. Further volumes are planned on other South American potatoes. The text is abundantly illustrated throughout with clear line drawings, photographs and many specially commissioned water colours, which identify the characteristic features of these plants and their natural habitats. The great variety of these wild potatoes within Bolivia provides botanists and plant breeders with a unique resource for the study of the cultivated varieties and the development of improved cultivars. This volume presents a thorough taxonomic treatment of all these varieties and incorporates valuable information about their distribution and habitat preferences which is illustrated through the use of maps and photographs.

"...this scholarly survey of Bolivian potatoes is indispensable to botanists and plant breeders who recognize that South America is a virtual genetic paradise for potato diversity." Diane C. Donovan, The Midwest Book Review "...will be the benchmark for potato taxonomy and other information, and is a must for graduate-level plant science, agricultural, or horticultural libraries serving breeders, geneticists, taxonomists, genetic engineers, and botanists. Very highly recommended." Choice "This truly beautiful work, skillfully translated into English by D. Ugent, is a taxonomic treatise of the 31 native and 7 cultivated species of Bolivian potatoes...is of special interest to crop scientists specializing in Solanum, particularly the tuberous species, although taxonomists, ethnobotanists, and students of South American botany will also find much of interest...Cambridge must be congratulated for publishing this important work, which certainly sets a standard for taxonomic treatments." R. John Little, Plant Science Bulletin "...a very readable text that is organized in such a way as to be clear and comprehensible to those who are not specifically familiar with the genus...will serve as an excellent reference and guide to potato taxonomists and systematists. But it is also of value to plant breeders interested in working with a broader spectrum of Solanum germplasm because of the additional information it includes. It is written in an easy, readable style, and therefore may appeal to a more general audience, who might like to learn more about potatoes in South America." Wanda W. Collins, American Scientist "...essential for the botanical taxonomist. For agronomists, ethnobotanists, and anthropologists concerned with Andean subsistence issues the volume will be a useful reference work...handsomely produced, expertly translated, and carefully edited. It includes twenty-five water color plates of Solanum species and tuber varieties. Nearly two hundred maps, line drawings, and photographs of plant specimens and habitat locales enliven the detailed taxonomic descriptions." Kent Mathewson, The Latin American Anthropology Review