
Photo by DLN.

The rarely seen
flowers by Karen Brown.
Synonyms:
Dioscorea violacea
Baudon.
Helmia bulbifera Kunth 1850.
Dioscorea
hoffa Cordem. 1895.
Dioscorea hofika Jum. & H.
Perrier, 1910.
Dioscorea latifolia Benth.
Dioscorea
longipetiolata Baudon.
Dioscorea anthropophagorum
A. Chev. ex Jum. 1910.
Dioscorea perrieri R. Knuth,
1924.
Dioscorea bulbifera var. albotuberosa Y.F.Zhou,
Z.L.Xu & Y.Y.Hang
Dioscorea bulbifera var. brachybotryum, Y.Y.Hang &
Y.F.Zhou
Dioscorea bulbifera var. elongata, Prain & Burkill.
Dioscorea crispata, Roxb.
Dioscorea heterophylla, Roxb.
Dioscorea korrorensis, R.Knuth.
Dioscorea perrieri, R.Knuth.
Dioscorea pulchella, Roxb.
Dioscorea rogersii, Prain & Burkill
Dioscorea sativa var. elongata, F.M.Bailey
Dioscorea sativa var. rotunda, F.M.Bailey.
Dioscorea tamifolia, Salisb.
Dioscorea tenuiflora, Schltdl.
Helmia bulbifera, Kunth.
Polynome bulbifera, Salisb. |
Author: | Carl Linnaeus, 1753 |
Family: |
DIOSCOREACEAE |
Origin: |
Asia, Africa,
Australia - see below |
Soil: |
Rich |
Water:
|
Medium |
Sun: |
Medium - Maximum |
Thickness: |
18
Centimetres |
Height: |
6 Metres |
Flower:
|
White |
Propagate: |
Seeds/Air-Bulbs |
Names:
|
Potato
Yam, Aerial Yam, Air Potato, Bulbil Yam, Bulbil-Bearing Yam,
Turkey Liver Yam, Top Yam |
Synonyms: |
Dioscorea sativa Thunb. 1784.
- and more below.... |
This member of the
Dioscoreaceae family was
given this name by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. It is found in tropical
Asia and Africa (and now in southern USA and northern South Africa), growing in
a rich and well
drained soil with some water and little to some sun. The caudex
can grow to 18 centimetres in diameter, the vines can reach for six
metres. The rarely seen flowers are tiny and white.
Dioscorea is named after
Pedianos Dioscorides, a Greek physician if the 1st century A.D. The
species name means 'bearing bulbs', for the bulbs on the stems. |

Photo by Alex Smirnov.
It originates from:
Andaman Is., Angola, Assam, Bangladesh, Benin, Borneo, Burkina,
Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Caprivi Strip, Caroline Is.,
Central African Repu, Chad, China North-Central, China
South-Central, China Southeast, Christmas I., Congo, East
Himalaya, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea,
Guinea-Bissau, Gulf of Guinea Is., Hainan, India, Ivory Coast,
Japan, Jawa, Kenya, Korea, Laccadive Is., Laos, Lesser Sunda
Is., Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaya, Mali, Mozambique,
Myanmar, Nansei-shoto, Nepal, New Guinea, Nigeria, Northern
Territory, Pakistan, Philippines, Queensland, Rwanda, Senegal,
Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Taiwan,
Tanzania, Thailand, Tibet, Togo, Uganda, Vietnam, West Himalaya,
Western Australia, Zambia, Zaïre, Zimbabwe. |