They fought a war over a swath of mineral-rich desert, battled countless times on the soccer field and have even dueled over the origins of a pungent liquor both claim as a national drink.

Peruvian officials are rankling over plans by their Chilean counterparts to register 286 varieties of potatoes as part of Chile‘s "national heritage." The designation of the potato varieties as part of the official heritage of Chile would amount to more than national pride. It would lay the groundwork to a future legal patent.

"This project is about registering something that belongs to our country. These are varieties that have been developed and are grown in Chile," said Andres Contreras, one of the Chilean scientists who worked on the potatoes. Nationalistic rancor has smoldered between Chile and Peru since the 1879-84 War of the Pacific, when Chile seized Peruvian land.

A study last year funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that modern potatoes can be traced genetically to an original Peruvian spud cultivated in more than 7,000 years ago. "Chile can declare potatoes originally from Chilean soil as cultural patrimony. That‘s fine," he said. "It‘s something that other countries should do."

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