Ipomoea Batatas

Lam.

Sweet potato (E); Batata (S); Boniato (C); Camote (D); Kualu (Cu) . Cultivated by the Amerindians long before the coming of the Europeans, sweet potatoes are of little importance in the interior of Panama. Sweet potatoes, at the time of conquistadores, were present both in Darien and in Veraguas, where the Guaymi were said to offer them to Cerro Nubu. For man, the sweet potato, raw or more usually cooked, furnishes sugar, starch, and a little fat. Maya Indians usually bake them in ashes and eat them unseasoned. For livestockk, the tops serve as fodder. Some natives eat the leaves.