Around 8,000 years ago, a poisonous Peruvian tuber was rendered edible via a still-baffling process that involved reducing glycoalkaloid levels by 15-25 fold. Even now, these poisons are present in the potato, particularly the varieties Home Guard, Rocket and British Queen, until the tubers reach maturity. The result of this domestication was an edible plant, or esculent, that has come to dominate the world.