List of sweet potato cultivars facts for kids

A sweet potato plant in bloom at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology botanical garden

Edible sweet potato roots photographed in Karlsruhe, Germany

Sweet potatoes are amazing plants that give us tasty and healthy roots to eat! They are also grown for their beautiful leafy vines. There are many different kinds of sweet potatoes, and these different types are called cultivars. Think of it like different breeds of dogs – they're all dogs, but they look and act a bit differently.

People first started growing sweet potatoes in the Americas over 5,000 years ago. Today, there are about 7,000 different sweet potato cultivars around the world! You can find them growing in places like New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines, Japan, Hawaii, China, and North America. They aren't grown much in Europe, though.

Farmers and scientists create new sweet potato cultivars through something called plant breeding. This means they carefully choose sweet potato plants with the best features – like a super sweet taste, a pretty color, or strong vines – and help them create new seeds. This way, they can make even better sweet potatoes!

Sweet potato roots come in many shapes, sizes, and colors. The more orange the inside (called the flesh) of a sweet potato is, the more carotene it has. Carotene is a special nutrient that your body turns into vitamin A, which is good for your eyes and overall health! The outside skin of a sweet potato root is called the epidermis, and it's often a different color than the flesh inside.

Sometimes, in the Southern United States, orange sweet potatoes are called "yams." But real yams are actually a different plant! Sweet potatoes are all part of one plant family (I. batatas). Yams belong to a different group of plants called Dioscorea. True yams are usually starchier, drier, and have a rougher skin than sweet potatoes. This list is only about sweet potatoes, not yams.

Sweet Potatoes Grown for Eating

Many of the sweet potato types listed below were created at special places called agricultural experiment stations. These are like research centers where scientists work to grow more and better food. They are often run by governments or universities.

Name	Creator	How it was made	Skin Color	Flesh Color	Notes	Origin
Acadian	Louisiana State University	L21 × L131	copper	orange		US
Allgold / Okla. 240	Oklahoma State University–Stillwater	Creole × Triumph (Parent 10)	tan	orange		US
Americana	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown		Unknown
Apache	USDA (United States Department of Agriculture)	(Yellow Yam 149 × Nancy Hall 42–1) × (Pelican Processor Triumph)	orange	Unknown		US
Australian Canner	Department of Agriculture (Australia)	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Tested and named by USDA	Australia
Ayamurasaki	Unknown	Native plant	sangria	plum	Also called beniimo	Okinawa
Baker / V 2158	Norfolk, Virginia	Virginian × numbered seedling	Unknown	Unknown		US
Beauregard	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	Seed from L78-21	rose	orange	First grown in 1987	US
Bonara	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown		Unknown
Campeon	Unknown	Unknown	light red	white	Often called boniato	Unknown
Canbake / G-52-15-1	Georgia Agricultural Experiment Station (AES)	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown		US
Caro-Gold	Clemson College	C317 × Goldrush	bright purple	orange		US
Carolina Bunch	US Vegetable Laboratory (USDA Agricultural Research Service); South Carolina AES	Seed from Excel	light copper	deep orange		US
Carolina Nugget	North Carolina State University	HM1-36 × Lakan	rosy	medium orange	First grown in 1954	US
Carolina Ruby	North Carolina Agricultural Research Service (NCARS)	Seed from Beauregard	dark red to purple-red	dark orange	First grown in 1988	US
Caromex	North Carolina State University	NC228 × NC234	dark copper	deep orange	First grown in 1971	US
Carver	Tuskegee Institute	Centennial × Jewel	deep rose	deep orange		US
Centennial / L-3-77	Louisiana AES (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)	Unit IPR × Pelican Processor	orange	orange		US
Chipper	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown		Unknown
Covington NC98-608	North Carolina State University	Unknown	rose	orange	Smooth skin	US
Cliett Bunch Porto Rico / Georgia Bunch Porto Rico	University of Georgia Coastal Plain Experiment Station (Tifton, Georgia)	Change from Vining Porto Rico	Unknown	Unknown	Like Vining Porto Rico	US
Coastal Red	University of Georgia Coastal Plain Experiment Station (Tifton, Georgia)	Seed from GA-76	red	medium orange	First grown in 1978	US
Coppergold	L. A. Sharum (Fort Smith, Arkansas)	Change in Allgold	russet copper	Unknown		US
Cordner	Texas AES and Oklahoma State University	copper	medium orange		First grown in 1983	US
Creole	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown		Unknown
Darby	Louisiana AES (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)	Seed from L 83-523	dark rose	orange	Purple stems	US
Don Juan	Puerto Rico AES (Río Piedras, Puerto Rico)	Selected from native plants	Unknown	Unknown		Puerto Rico
Earlyport	Louisiana AES (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)	(Mameyita × seedling L-4-6) × (seedling L-5 × Triumph)	copper	orange	Like Porto Rico	US
Earlysweet / T-3	University of Georgia Coastal Plain Experiment Station (Tifton, Georgia)	Porto Rico × other plants	light-skinned	deep orange		US
Eureka	Louisiana State University AES; University of California AES	L9-163 × LO-132	copper	orange		US
Evangeline	Louisiana	Unknown	rose	orange		US
Excel	USDA and the South Carolina AES	Seed from Regal	light copper	orange	Skin is a bit lighter than Jewel	US
GA90-16	Georgia AES; US Vegetable Laboratory (USDA ARS)	Unknown	Unknown	white	Low sugar, low maltose	US
Garnet	Unknown	Unknown	pale copper	brilliant orange	Sometimes called "yams" in the US	US
Georgia Jet	Unknown	Unknown	purplish red	deep orange		US
Georgia Red / T-6	University of Georgia Coastal Plain Experiment Station (Tifton, Georgia)	Porto Rican crosses	coppery-red skin	Unknown	Like Porto Rico	US
Gold Rush	Louisiana AES (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)	(Mameyita × Seedling L4-6) × (Seedling L-5 × Triumph)	light copper	deep orange	Purple stems	US
Golden Belle	Bryce Woods (Rogers, Arkansas)	Nancy Gold change	Unknown	golden	Different flesh color than Nancy Hall	US
Goldmar	Maryland AES (College Park, Maryland)	Redmar change	golden	Unknown	Grown in 1973. Like Redmar, but different skin.	US
Grand Asia	Unknown	Unknown	pink	white	Like 'Japanese' type	Unknown
Hannah Sweet	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown		Unknown
Hayman White	Unknown	Unknown	tan	cream	An old type from the Eastern United States	US
Heartogold	Louisiana State University	Mameyita × Yellow Yam	flesh-colored	deep orange		US
Hernandez	Louisiana State University AES	Seed from L70-323	burnt orange	deep orange	First grown in 1992	US
HiDry	Clemson University; USDA	Fourth-generation plant from MK-14	white	cream	Grown for industrial use	US
Hoolehua Gold	Unknown	Unknown	pale red to orange-red	light orange		Unknown
Hoolehua Red	Unknown	Unknown	red	off-white		Unknown
Hopi / HM-122	USDA Horticultural Field Station (Meridian, Mississippi)	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown		US
Houhere	Māori traditional	Old "kūmara" type	pink	yellow	Rectangular roots	New Zealand
Hutihuti	Māori traditional	Old "kūmara" type	cream	cream	Long, thin, up to 20 roots per plant	New Zealand
Iliua	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown		Unknown
Japanese / Oriental	Unknown	Unknown	purplish red	pale	Lower moisture	Unknown
Jersey Orange / Orange Little Stern	Kansas State College; Rutgers University	Unknown	orange-brown	deep orange	Like Jersey Yellow in size and shape	US
Jersey Red	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	An old type	US
Jersey Yellow	Unknown	Unknown	golden, buff, or tan	cream to bright yellow	An old type	US
Jewel	North Carolina State University	Unknown	copper	deep orange	First grown in 1970. Sometimes called "yams" in the US.	US
Kandee / K1716	Kansas State College	La 1946 Cross 17 × 1 (yellow yam × Nancy Hall)	reddish bronze	bright orange		US
Kona B	Unknown	Unknown	pale red to orange-red	light orange		Unknown
Kote Buki	Unknown	Unknown	purplish red	white	Mid-season	Unknown
Lakan / L-0-123	Louisiana AES (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)	(Unit IPR × Pelican. Processor) × (Mameyita × L-4-6)	reddish-bronze to reddish-tan	bright orange		US
Mameyita	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown		Unknown
Maryland Golden	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown		US
Miguela	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown		Unknown
Murasaki	Unknown	Unknown	hybiscus	pale	Low moisture	Unknown
Murff Bush Porto Rico	E. L. Murff (Normangee, Texas)	Porto Rico change	copper	orange	First grown in 1949. Like Porto Rico.	US
Nancy Gold	Kansas State College AES	Nancy Hall change	buff-colored	deep-orange	Skin color differs from Nancy Hall	US
Nancy Hall	Unknown	Unknown	tan	yellow		Unknown
Nemagold / Okla. 46	Oklahoma State University–Stillwater	Yellow Jersey (Orlis strain) × Okla. 29	Unknown	Unknown		US
Northern Star	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Grown in Australia	Unknown
Nugget / NC-171	North Carolina AES (Raleigh, North Carolina)	NC-124 × (NC-41 × B5965)	Unknown	Unknown		US
O'Henry	Henry Wayne Bailey [(Vardaman, MS)]	Beauregard change	coppery tan	lemon cream	A type of Beauregard	US
Okla. 46	Oklahoma State University–Stillwater	Okla. 29 × Orlis	golden russet	orange	Roots and vines like yellow Jersey or Orlis	US
Oklamar / Okla. 52	Oklahoma State University–Stillwater AES	Selection from Australian Canner	purple	salmon		US
Oklamex Red	Oklahoma and New Mexico AES	B 1564 × PI 153655	dark red	salmon	Very sweet, moist root	US
Onokeo	Unknown	Unknown	violet	ivory		Unknown
Onolena / HES number 14	Vegetable Crops Department, University of Hawaii (Honolulu)	Porto Rico × Nancy Hall	tan	dark orange	Like Porto Rico	US
Orange Sunset	Plant & Food Research	Unknown	purple	orange and purple	First grown in 2014	New Zealand
Orlis	Kansas State College	Change from Common Little Stem Jersey	bronze	Unknown	Like Little Stem Jersey	US
Owairaka Red	Fay Gock and Joe Gock	Waina type	dark red	yellow	Popular in New Zealand (2000)	New Zealand
Papota	USDA ARS; Tropical Agricultural Research Station	International Institute of Tropical Agr. seedling	white	beige	Turnip-shaped root	US
Parapara	Māori traditional	Unknown	pink	Unknown	Used as medicine for babies, elderly, sick	New Zealand
Pelican Processor / L-5 / L-4-5	Louisiana AES (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)	Seed from Americana	cream	light cream		US
Picadita	Unknown	Unknown	purple-red	white	Often called boniato	Unknown
Pope	North Carolina State University	NC 288 × 304	light salmon	medium orange		US
Poporo	Māori traditional	Unknown	purple	purple	Traditional sweet and dry type	New Zealand
Porto Rico 198 / Porto Rican / Puerto Rican	North Carolina	Unknown	rose-pink	orange mottled	First grown in 1966	US
Purple Dawn	Plant & Food Research	Unknown	purple	purple	First grown in 2014	New Zealand
Purple Heart / Okinawa	Okinawa Island	Unknown	tan	grape	Also grown in Hawaii	Japan
Queen Mary / L-126	Louisiana AES (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)	Porto Rico × Nancy Hall	Unknown	Unknown	Like Porto Rico	US
Ranger	Louisiana State University	Porto Rico × Nancy Hall	flesh-colored	orange	Like Nancy Hall	US
Rapoza	Unknown	Unknown	ivory	purple		Unknown
Rekarawa	Māori traditional	Unknown	white	Unknown	Chestnut flavor	New Zealand
Rekamaroa	Māori traditional	Old "kūmara" type	white	Unknown		New Zealand
Red Diane	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown		Unknown
Red Garnet	Unknown	Unknown	deep red to purple	orange		Unknown
Red Jewel	Unknown	Unknown	red	deep orange		Unknown
Red Nancy	Kansas State College	Change of Nancy Gold	red	orange	Like Nancy Gold	US
Redglow	University of Georgia AES; California AES	Seed from GA-109	light, purple-red	deep orange		US
Redgold / Okla. 26	Oklahoma State University–Stillwater	Okla. 2 × L37	red	orange		US
Redmar / Md 2416	Maryland AES (College Park, Maryland)	[(K18400 × B6313) × Shoreland × (Virginian × K1846)]	red	Unknown	First grown in 1971. Like Nemagold.	US
Regal	USDA ARS; South Carolina AES (Clemson University); Texas Agricultural Station (Texas A&M University)	Seed from W-99	dark purplish-red	orange to deep orange		US
Resisto	USDA; South Carolina AES; Texas AES	Seed from W-56	reddish-copper	dark orange		US
Rojo Blanco	Tuskegee Institute	Rose Centennial × White Triumph	deep red	milk white		US
Romanawa	Māori traditional	Unknown	gold	yellow/orange		New Zealand
Rose Centennial	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown		Unknown
Ruddy	US Vegetable Laboratory (USDA ARS); South Carolina AES	Seed from W-119	red skin	orange		US
Scarlet	North Carolina Agricultural Research Service (NCARS)	Selected from Jewel	Unknown	orange		US
Shore Gold	Virginia Tech Experiment Station	Seed from L7-177	light copper	bright orange		US
Southern Delite	USDA ARS; Clemson University	Seed from W-99	rose to dark copper	orange	Released in 1986. Skin color changes with soil.	US
Stokes Purple	Unknown (North Carolina)	Unknown	purple gray	dark purple	Released in 2012.	US
Sumor	USDA ARS; United States Vegetable Laboratory; South Carolina AES (Clemson University); Edisto Research and Education Center	Seed from W-154	light tan	white to yellow	High in vitamin C	US
Sunnyside	USDA (Beltsville, Maryland and Louisiana)	(Yellow Yam × Nancy Hall) × (Pelican Processor × Triumph)	Unknown	Unknown		US
Sweet Red	North Carolina State University	Seed from NC 258	deep copper-red	deep orange		US
Tango	USDA; Missouri AES (Columbia, Missouri); Sweet Potato Cooperative Group (Beltsville, Maryland)	Nancy Hall × Porto Rico 1-10	Unknown	Unknown		US
Tanhoma	Oklahoma State University–Stillwater AES	Selection from Australian Canner	Unknown	Unknown		US
Taputini	Māori traditional	Old "kūmara" type	cream	cream	Long, thin, up to 20 roots per plant	New Zealand
Toka Toka Gold	Unknown	Unknown	gold	white	Available since 1972	New Zealand
Topaz	Texas AES	Seed from W-26	bronze	medium orange		Unknown
Travis	Louisiana AES	Cross with L3-217 as seed parent	rose	deep orange	First grown in 1980	US
UPLSP-1	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Grown in the Philippines	Unknown
UPLSP-2	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Grown in the Philippines	Unknown
U.P.R. number 3	Puerto Rico AES (Río Piedras, Puerto Rico)	Selected from Mameya	Unknown	Unknown		Puerto Rico
U.P.R. number 7	Puerto Rico AES (Río Piedras, Puerto Rico)	L-240	Unknown	deep orange		Puerto Rico
Vardaman	Unknown	Unknown	golden	light orange		US
Virginian / V-53	Truck Experiment Station (near Norfolk, Virginia)	Maryland Golden × B-219	purplish-red to copper-red	bright orange		US
VSP-5	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Grown in the Philippines	Unknown
VSP-6	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Grown in the Philippines	Unknown
Waimanalo Red	Unknown	Unknown	red	pearl		Unknown
Waina	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Vine type brought to New Zealand in 1800s	Unknown
White Delite	North Carolina State University	Cross between GA41 and unknown parent	purplish pink	white	First grown in 1979	US
White Triumph	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown		Unknown
Whitestar	USDA (Beltsville, Maryland)	Cultivar Laupahoehoe (Hawaii)	white	pale		US
Yellow Yam	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown		Unknown

Sweet Potatoes Grown for Decoration

Some sweet potato types are grown not for their roots, but for their beautiful leaves and vines! They make great plants for gardens or hanging baskets.

Name	Creator(s)	Leaf Color	Leaf Shape	Notes
Black Heart / Ace of Spades / Purple Heart	Unknown	dark purplish with purple veins	heart
Blackie	Unknown	purple and green blend	Unknown	Darker than Black Heart
Bronze Beauty	Unknown	copper	Unknown	Same leaf shape as Blackie
Copper	Unknown	chartreuse to purple	Unknown
Freckles	Unknown	green and yellow mottled	Unknown
Gold Finger	Unknown	lime green	lobed
Ivory Jewel	Unknown	green and ivory streaked	heart
Lady Fingers	Unknown	green with purple veins	lobed
Marguerite / Chartreuse / Sulfur	Unknown	chartreuse	Unknown
Mini Blackie	Unknown	dark green with purple veins	Unknown	Leaf color is lighter than lacinato kale
NCORNSP011MNLC / Illusion® Midnight Lace	Unknown	dark green with purple veins	Unknown
NCORNSP012EMLC / Illusion® Emerald Lace	Unknown	chartreuse	lobed
Purple Tuber	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Seki Blakhrt / Chillin™ / Blackberry Heart	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Sidekick Black	Unknown	deep purple	lobed
Sidekick Lime	Unknown	green	lobed
Sweet Caroline Bewitched Purple / PP18574	Craig Yencho; Ken Pecota (2006)	dark green to vivid burgundy	Unknown
Sweet Caroline Bronze / PP15437	Craig Yencho; Ken Pecota; Cindy Pierce (2002)	Unknown	Unknown
Sweet Caroline Green	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Sweet Caroline Green Yellow	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Sweet Caroline Light Green	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Sweet Caroline Purple	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Sweet Caroline Red	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Light Green	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Red	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Sweet Georgia Heart Purple	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Terrace Lime	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Tricolor	Unknown	green, white, pink	Unknown	Medium-size leaves
Vardaman	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown

List of sweet potato cultivars facts for kids

Sweet Potatoes Grown for Eating

Sweet Potatoes Grown for Decoration

See also