The potato is the third most important food crop in the world behind rice and wheat in terms of consumption by humans. There are more than 4,000 varieties of native potatoes coming in many shapes, sizes and colors. Potatoes are a flowering plant, first domesticated between 10,000 and 7,000 years ago in the Andes Mountains in South America. Between 1532 and 1572, Spanish explorers were introduced to the potato and reached Europe around 1570.In the late 1700's much of Europe was engulfed in crop failures and the potato was seen as a stable, high-calorie food source that could be grown in a variety of climates. By the mid-1800s the country of Ireland was particularly dependent on potatoes.