Abstract
From 2001 to 2003, field collections of wild potatoes (Solanum Section Petota Solanaceae) were made in the north of the Department of La Paz, Bolivia, with the aim of determining their current distribution in this region. The collection embraced sectors of five provinces: Omasuyos, Larecaja, Camacho, Muñecas and Bautista Saavedra. Five previously described wild species were collected: Solanum acaule Bitter, S. achacachense Cárdenas, S. brevicaule (Bitter) Juz and Buk, S. candolleanum Berthault and S. circaeifolium Bitter, as well as four unidentified species. Some wild potato species in Bolivia, such as S. achacachense, are rare and in danger of extinction because of the destruction of their habitat. In contrast, S. brevicaule, S. candolleanum and S. circaeifolium were recorded in new areas. Some species were affected by pests (Premnotrypes sp.) or the fungus Phytophthora infestans. This is the first time that "Lelekoyas" potatoes (S. tuberosum subsp. andigena) have been detected in the area of influence of Lake Titicaca. In summary, this work reports degrees of genetic erosion for some species, the finding of taxa in new geographical areas, some probable new species, and the presence of P. infestans in some of the species detected.
Highlights
Bolivia is home to 36 of the 196 known species of wild potato (Solanum Section Petota Solanaceae); only in Peru are more species found (Hijmans et al, 2002)
Between January and March of 2001, 2002, and 2003, a number of expeditions were made to the type localities of the wild potato species of different provinces belonging to the north of the Dept. of La Paz (Fig. 1)
Between three and five samples of typical plants of the species S. acaule Bitter, S. achacachense Cárdenas, S. brevicaule (Bitter) Juz and Buk, S. candolleanum Berthault, and S. circaeifolium Bitter were collected at each site where they were found in the different provinces, along with three samples of each of the four undescribed species (Table 1)
Summary
Bolivia is home to 36 of the 196 known species of wild potato (Solanum Section Petota Solanaceae); only in Peru are more species found (Hijmans et al, 2002). The collection of wild potato species in Bolivia goes back to 1851. Mandon collected the plants —including wild potato plants— of the Sorata Valley in the Dept. Several explorer-botanists, among the most important of whom were Cárdenas (1966), Ochoa (1990), Spooner et al (1994) and Hawkes (1997), made collections of wild and cultivated potatoes. Two monographs exist on the taxonomy of wild potatoes in Bolivia, that of Hawkes and Hjerting (1989) and that of Ochoa (1990). Spooner and Hijmans (2001) reported taxonomic modifications
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