Solanum tuberosum
Potato ‘Mr Little’s Yetholm Gypsy’
Maruska Greenwood
Watercolour
Artwork size in cm, 46 x 36
NFS
A distinctive heritage potato, with a name which summarises its historical connection to its original community. It originates from the Yetholm area in the Scottish Borders, which uniquely was a stronghold of Romany gypsies for centuries. Thought to be introduced in around 1899, it is also named after the late Mr Little of Yetholm, a shepherd whose family was given the tubers at a local horse fair in the 1940s, and kept the variety going for 50 years.
It now owes its survival to Scotland’s potato expert, Alan Romans, who was given a tuber in 1998 by Mr Little, and through his microplants project cleaned and re-introduced the variety on a small scale. It has spectacular markings and is the only known variety of potato to show flashes of three colours on its skin. The skin’s base colour is pale golden, and the beautiful outward appearance is made by a thin layer of pink pigment overlaid by another layer of purple. As the tubers grow the purple layer of skin splits to show the pinks, and under that the cream colouring. The different colour layers combine to create unusual random swirling of cream, purple and pinks on each tuber.
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Please note: Paintings will be on display at the V&A Dundee until the end of July, so a pickup after that date can be arranged.
