Coleus

Coleus (Solenostemon rotundifolius) also known as Chinese potato, frafra potato and Hausa potato is among the lesser-known and underexploited tuber crop from the Western Africa. Although it has been cultivated and maintained by traditional farmers, there are no records indicating when it was first brought under cultivation; and also, it has not received sufficient attention from the scientific community in the past. The crop belongs to the family Labiatae. It is a small herbaceous annual crop with prostrate or ascending succulent stem and branches. The crop usually grows up to 20–30 cm in height. The tips of the adventitious roots modify into small round tubers. Unlike other tuber crops, this is a transplanted vegetable. The tubers contain 20-24 % starch.