The sweetpotato is in the morning glory family. It is an enlarged storage root that comes in many different shapes, sizes, and colors.

California grows both “dry flesh” and “moist flesh” varieties. The “moist flesh” type is sometimes referred to as a yam, and the “dry flesh” as a sweet potato. They are both sweet potatoes.

Sweet potatoes are native to Central America and Peru. A true yam is native to Africa. The term “yam” came to be synonymous with sweet potatoes because Louisiana used the term to market their moist, orange sweet potatoes.