Potatoes originate from the region of present-day southern Peru and extreme northwestern Bolivia in the Andes mountains of South America. They were domesticated there about 7,000 to 10,000 years ago from wild species in that area. This region is considered the genetic origin of the cultivated potato, and many varieties were traditionally grown by indigenous peoples like the Incas.

The potato as we know it today likely arose from an ancient hybridization event involving a member of the tomato lineage and a wild potato-like plant lineage millions of years ago in South America, which enabled tuber formation.