Pua ʻUala Photograph by Heidi Fickinger
(translation Flower of Sweet Potato Vine)
n. The sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), a perennial, wide-spreading vine, with heart-shaped, angled, or lobed leaves and pinkish-lavender flowers. The tuberous roots are a valuable food, and they vary greatly in many ways, as in color and shape. Though of South American origin, the plant has been a staple food since ancient times in many parts of Polynesia, as well as in some other regions. (HP 131–66, Neal 706–7.)
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