How long has potatos been around?

Potatoes have been around for a very long time, but the exact answer depends on what you mean by "around".

* Domesticated potatoes: The potato, as we know it today, has been cultivated for at least 8,000 years in the Andes Mountains of South America.

* Wild potatoes: The wild ancestors of the potato have been around for millions of years, dating back to the Pleistocene epoch.

So, while the potato as we know it has been domesticated for thousands of years, its wild origins go back much further.