It is a bit ironic that we use Latin for the official botanical names of plants: many, including the Solanum Tuberosum, were not available in ancient or even more modern Rome: potatoes were only introduced to Europe in the 16th century by the Conquistadors returning from South America.

The origins of the name are disputed: it may have derived from the masculine noun sol, solis, meaning the sun, or perhaps from the neuter noun solamen, solaminis , meaning a source of comfort or solace (this one is more likely if you tend to think of potatoes as “comfort food”!)

The Solanum tuberosum is one of those vegetables that most people try to grow at one time or another. They are very easy to cultivate, and often just spring up when a tuber is left in the ground. Their flowers are quite pretty, although both flowers and leaves are toxic to humans.

This heartbreaking painting from around 1850 shows the reaction of a family when they realise their store of potatoes is infected with blight.

It’s a timely reminder to us that we moderns are not immune from threats to our own food supply chains. They are very fragile so we should make a habit of checking and rotating whatever food supplies we are stocking at home.

For a pop-culture reference to the Latin sol, consider a character from the 2010 movie, Book of Eli. A young woman named Solara was born after an apocalyptic war which ‘tore a hole in the sky’, causing the sun to scorch the earth. After that devastating incident, no one could go outside without wearing sunglasses.