Q: Are the tubers from the ornamental sweet potato vine edible?

A: Sure – and you’ll get 200 percent of your daily roughage requirements in the bargain!

Ornamental sweet potatoes are the same species as the edible kind but they have been selected for their interesting foliage, not their tasty roots.You’ll need lots of brown sugar and butter to make them palatable.

I’m told that Dr. Doug Bailey, who heads the Horticulture Department at the University of Georgia, has prepared several ornamental potato dishes for his colleagues.

Rather than eating the tuber, why not store it in a cool place over the winter and propagate it next spring?