Alu / Potato
Solanum tuberosum
- Found in India
- Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh & more
How to identify Alu
Identify Alu by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Confirm leaf surface: Hirsute.
- Confirm fruit type: Underground tuber.
- In India, compare location records such as Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Solanaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Alu.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Solanum tuberosum
- Genus
- Solanum
- Family
- Solanaceae
- Found in India
- Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Bihar, Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf surface
- HirsuterecordedCovered in coarse, stiff, bristly hairs.“The leaves have roughly four pairs of leaflets.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Characters marked “recorded” are for Alu itself; the rest are typical of the Solanaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Fruit type
- Underground tuberrecorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Cyme
- Fruit
- Berry
Characters marked “recorded” are for Alu itself; the rest are typical of the Solanaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- Alu आलू
- Manipuri
- ꯑꯂꯨ Alu
- Marathi
- बटाटा Batata
- Tamil
- உருளை Urulai
- Kannada
- ಆಲು, ಆಲೂ Aaloo, ಆಲುಗಡ್ಡೆ Aalugadde, ಆಲುಗೆಡ್ಡೆ, ಆಲೂಗೆಡ್ಡೆ Aaloogedde, ಬಟಾಟ Bataata, ಬಟಾಟೆ Bataate
- Angami
- Kelu
About Alu
Potato (Solanum tuberosum) is a species in the Solanaceae family. In India it has been recorded in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and 9 other states.
Uses
Locally it is grown for parts that are eaten, stripped for fibre used in rope and matting and harvested for fodder. Parts of this plant are reported as poisonous — treat it as unsafe to eat and wash your hands after handling.
In culture
It is treated as sacred and appears in worship and carries a body of folklore around it.
Solanaceae
Nightshade/Tomato family
Alu belongs to the Solanaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Solanaceae familySnap it. Know it.
Point your camera at Alu or any plant and SASYA identifies it instantly — on-device, offline, and private.
Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
All plant problem & care guides