Sweet potato is a wild plant that, despite its name, is actually a type of wild fruit. Its fruit is edible and the whole plant can be used for medicinal purposes. Due to its small size, it is difficult to find and therefore quite expensive. Now let's learn about the cultivation and price trend of wild sweet potatoes.
Image of wild sweet potatoes
【Morphological Features of Wild Sweet Potatoes】
Although wild sweet potatoes have "sweet potato" in their name, they are actually different from sweet potatoes. They are more like a type of wild fruit.
Generally, wild fruits grow on trees, but these wild fruits grow on vines in the soil, which makes them unique.
Wild sweet potatoes are very small, small enough to be grabbed with two fingers. They are round in shape and have a red exterior.
When you break open a wild sweet potato, you can clearly see that it is hollow inside, with red flesh that feels grainy.
You can eat wild sweet potatoes with the skin on, just make sure to clean them. They have a slightly sweet taste and a soft texture, making them a good wild fruit overall.
Image of wild sweet potatoes
【Effects and Benefits of Wild Sweet Potatoes】
1. Promotes blood circulation and relieves pain
The entire wild sweet potato plant can be used for medicinal purposes, and its main effects are dispelling wind and heat and promoting blood circulation.
In traditional Chinese medicine, it is often used to treat conditions such as bronchitis, rheumatic pain, and edema. It can be taken internally after decoction or applied externally.
2. Stops bleeding and detoxifies
Wild sweet potatoes have excellent hemostatic effects. In case of excessive bleeding from an injury, you can crush them and apply them directly to the affected area to achieve good hemostatic results.
They can also be used to treat snake bites. The method is the same as mentioned above, and the dressing should be changed once a day to quickly eliminate toxins from the body.
Image of wild sweet potatoes
【Economic Value of Wild Sweet Potatoes】
Wild sweet potatoes are green when young and turn pale red when ripe. They have a fragrant and sweet taste, making them a nutritious and healthy fruit that can be eaten fresh or processed into dried fruits.
For fruit cultivation, wild sweet potatoes are suitable for intercropping in orchards, turning traditional single-season orchards into dual-season orchards. The fruits can be made into jam, juice, and other products.
In 2018, the price of wild sweet potatoes ranged from 25 to 35 yuan per kilogram, and on some shopping websites, it could reach around 35 yuan per kilogram. Wild sweet potatoes are abundant in rural areas, and many people born in the 1970s and 1980s have childhood memories of digging wild sweet potatoes in the mountains.
As wild sweet potatoes become scarcer, their value increases. The prices vary in different places. Generally, wild sweet potatoes cost around 25 to 35 yuan per kilogram, and on some shopping websites, the price can reach around 35 yuan per kilogram.
Since wild sweet potatoes bear fruit in May and mature in June, and start to rot around mid-June to July, the fruiting cycle is short. Additionally, in most areas, they cannot be planted year-round, although in some local areas, it is possible. Therefore, the yield per acre cannot be estimated. However, the yield per acre for some farmers is around 1,600 kilograms.
