pantropical vine widely cultivated in several varieties for its large sweet tuberous root with orange flesh
edible tuberous root of the sweet potato vine grown widely in warm regions of the United States
a root tuber, a fleshy root that stores food for a plant
A variety of sweet potato with a thick, dark orange skin and an orange flesh that remains moist when cooked; sometimes erroneously called a yam.
There are many varieties of sweet potato, which are in-appropriately called (and labeled) "yams," which they are not. True yams are unrelated to sweet potatoes.
Contrary to popular belief, the sweet potato is different from the yam. Sweet potatoes are bright with orange flesh, though some varieties have yellow, white, or even purple flesh.
The sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), often called a yam in the United States, is a crop plant whose large, starchy, sweet tasting tuberous roots are an important root vegetable. The young leaves and shoots are sometimes eaten as greens. The sweet potato is only distantly related to the potato (Solanum tuberosum).