Why do potatoes grow eyes?
For grown-ups: the science
Potato eyes are tiny buds that can grow into stems and help make a new potato plant.
A potato is a tuber, an underground storage stem. Its “eyes” are nodes containing buds, which can sprout into shoots under suitable conditions; the sprouts use stored starch in the tuber until leaves and roots support the growing plant.
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Transcript
Look at this potato with little dots on its skin. Why does it grow eyes?
A potato is a plant part that stores food underground. Its eyes are tiny spots where new stems can begin.
When a potato gets warmth and water, a bud in an eye can wake up. It grows a little green shoot.
The shoot reaches up for sunlight, while roots grow down into soil. Soon, the potato can help make a whole new plant.
So potato eyes are places where new plants can start growing!