Russet Burbank is the most popular potato cultivar in the United States. Taxonomy of Potato Potato belongs to the Solanaceae, a family of about 90 genera and 2,800 species. The genus Solanum, to which potato and all wild relatives belong, consists of about 2,000 species. The potato is an herbaceous plant, 0.5-1 meter high. The leaves are alternate and irregularly pinnately compound.
Inflorescences consist of several flowers.
Flowers are 5-merous, actinomorphic, perfect, and have sympetalous colored corollas. Reproduction and Genetics of Potato Potato genetics and reproduction is a complex field. It is difficult to do justice to the subject in a short exposition. The potato has the richest genetic resources of any cultivated plant, and these genetic resources are generally easily incorporated into cultivars. Genetic manipulation and peculiarities in the cultivars and breeding stock is extensive.