Are potato leaves/greens edible?

Question

I've been told by someone that the leaves/greens of the potato plant are not edible and in fact can be poisonous and cause stomach upsets or long term problems.

I've been growing our own potatoes for years in the garden, and have consumed potato leaves/greens also for years and never had any problems. The leaves are washed and cleaned well and cooked (similarly to spinach).

So I was wondering, are the greens of the potato plant edible?

FYI: These potatoes are just your average potatoes.

Answer 1

No they are poisonous.  They are in the same family with Nightshade.  You shouldn't eat them. I think you have been very lucky.  You can't eat Tomato leaves either.  Here is a quote from a website to show you I am not making it up.

"The Solanaceae Family has been highly cultivated over the years - it includes potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, sweet peppers, chili peppers (but not black pepper), tobacco and petunias. Some plants have great medicinal value, some are quite poisonous."  You can eat sweet potato leaves.  They are a different family.

Here too you must be very careful because they look a lot like a lot of poisonous plants.  Someone ate Jimpson weed just the other day in D.C. and poisoned their entire family.  They are still in intensive care.  So be careful.

Answer 2

The leaves, stems and green potatoes all contain solanine which is a toxin.  They are really to be avoided.

Answer 3

No, I think they're potentially toxic. Same with tomato leaves, they're poisonous too.

There's some information on this at http://www.hiddendangersrevealed.com/

(Click on the "Everyday foods" link under Lifestyle Dangers)

Answer 4

First of all,in order for the potatoes to mature under the vine the vines have to die off or "go down", as in turn yellow, dry up. How/when are you harvesting the leaves of the potato plants? The tubers need them for growth/photosynthesis/food/etc. Are you here on Long Island? I'll ask some of the farmers I work with, but I don't think they're edible and you won't get the best size/maturity for your potatoes if you are cutting off the leaves before the vines have "died off". Young sweet potato leaves may be edible, and you can google that for more information.