Research on the genetic control of flowering in potato set to blossom - The control of flowering in potato

‘Hello, just inspecting my spuds and spotted this fruit growing on a stem. It’s dark green and has a stalk attached. Anyone know what it might be?’ This was a question submitted by a gardener to an online discussion forum (Gardener’s World, 2014), and it is not unusual for gardeners to ask why their potato plants have flowers or berries (often described as small green tomatoes) on them (Fig. 1). The common misconception that potatoes do not flower or produce seeds arises, of course, because potatoes reproduce vegetatively as well as sexually, and growers plant ‘seed’ potatoes (pieces of tuber) rather than true seeds.