I asked Google, "Do potatoes have genders?"
No, potatoes don't have genders in the human or animal sense; they are plants that reproduce primarily asexually (cloning) via tubers, but their flowers contain both male and female parts (hermaphroditic) for sexual reproduction, making them neither strictly male nor female, but rather self-sufficient or capable of both methods.
Why Potatoes Don't Have "Gender" (Like Us)
*Asexual Reproduction (Main Method): When you plant a potato tuber (the "potato" you eat), it sprouts new, genetically identical plants—a process called vegetative propagation. This is cloning, not sexual reproduction, so the tuber itself has no gender, says Forbes.
*Sexual Reproduction (Flowers): Potato plants do produce flowers, which contain both male (pollen-producing) and female (egg-producing) parts within the same flower, making them hermaphroditic.
The Botanical Reality
*Hermaphrodite Flowers: Each flower has both male and female reproductive organs, allowing for self-pollination or cross-pollination.
*True Seeds & Berries: Successful pollination leads to small, tomato-like berries containing true potato seeds (TPS), which can grow into genetically unique new plants, explains Cultivariable.
So, while the flowers have both sexes, the common potato tuber we plant is essentially a clone, and the plant itself isn't categorized as male or female like humans or animals.
