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Dioscorea bulbifera

(Aerial Yam)

Overview

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This species is said to be poisonous.

Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Bengali:

Ban Alu, Rat Alu, Roth Alu

Common Names in Burmese:

Ah Lu Thi, Hpwut Sa Uu (Putsa U), Pat Sa Uu (Putsa U)

Common Names in Chinese:

Huang Du, Huang Yao

Common Names in English:

Aerial Yam, Air Potato, Air Yam, Air-Potato, Bitter Yam, Bulbil-Bearing Yam, Cheeky Yam, Hoi (Hawaii), Malacca Yam, Potato Yam

Common Names in French:

Igname Bulbifère, Igname Pousse En L´air, Masako, Pomme En L´air, Pousse En L´air

Common Names in German:

Brotwurzel, Kartoffel-Yam, Kartoffelyam, Knollen-Yam, Luft-Kartoffel, Luft-Yams, Yamswurzel

Common Names in Hawaiian:

Hoi

Common Names in Hindi:

Gaithi, Hoei Oepas, Karu Kunda, Karukanda, Kodikilangu, Ratalu, Ratula, कोिडिकलांनगु, रतालू, रातुला

Common Names in India:

Hoei-Oepas

Common Names in Japanese:

Kashuu Imo, Niga Kashuu

Common Names in Laotian:

Houo I Mou, Man Pau

Common Names in Marathi:

Kadu Kand, Mataru

Common Names in Nepalese:

Giitthaa (Gittha), Giitthe Tarul (Gitthe Tarul), Jada Bis, Van Tarul

Common Names in Oriya:

Pita Alu

Common Names in Portuguese:

Inhame

Common Names in Russian:

Iams Lukovitsenosnyi

Common Names in Spanish:

ñame Criollo (Venezuela), ñame De Aire (Colombia), ñame De Gunda, ñame Volador (Cuba), Papa Cimarrona (Mexico), Papa De Aire, Papa Voladora

Common Names in Tagalog:

Bayag Kabayo, Ubi Ubihan, Utong Utongan

Common Names in Tamil:

Kaattukkaayvalli, Kaayvalli, Pannu Kilangu

Common Names in Telugu:

Adavi Dumpa, Chedupaddudampa, Karu Kanda, Malaka Kayependalamu

Common Names in Thai:

De Khwa (Karen - Chiang Mai), Ham Pao (Northern Thailand), La Sa Mi, Lo Chae Mue (Karen), Man I Mo, Man Khamin, Wan Phra Chim, Wan Sam Phan Dtang, Wan Sam Phan Thueng

Common Names in Vietnamese:

C Di, Khoai Dái, Khoai Tri

Description

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Family Dioscoreaceae

Herbs twining or woody vines , rarely erect , small herbs. Rootstock rhizomatous or tuberous . Stem twining to left or right , pubescent or glabrous , sometimes prickly. Leaves alternate or opposite, petiolate , simple or palmately compound , basal veins 3--13, interstitial veins reticulate; leaflets of palmately compound leaves often ovate or lanceolate. Flowers usually unisexual (when plants dioecious, rarely monoecious), sometimes bisexual , solitary, clustered, or in cymules , these in a spike, raceme , or thyrse , these sometimes grouped into panicles. Male flowers: perianth lobes 6, in 2 whorls, basally connate or free ; stamens 6, sometimes 3 reduced to staminodes or absent, inserted on perianth or receptacle; ovary rudimentary or absent. Female flowers: similar to male ones; staminodes 3, 6, or absent; ovary inferior, 3-loculed, ovules usually 2 per locule (more than 2 in a few small genera), placentation axile ; styles 3, free. Fruit a capsule, berry, or samara. Seeds with a membranous wing or not; endosperm present; embryo small.

About nine genera and 650 species: widely distributed in tropical and temperate regions , especially in tropical America; one genus and 52 species (21 endemic, two introduced ) in China.[1]

Genus Dioscorea

Herbs twining . Rootstock rhizomatous or tuberous , variable in color, shape , chemical constituents, and depth in ground . Bulblets axillary or absent. Leaves alternate or opposite, petiolate , simple or palmately compound , basal veins 3--9. Flowers unisexual (plants dioecious, rarely monoecious), arranged spirally in axillary, usually elongate spikes or racemes , or in small cymules in ± spikelike thyrses , these often several together, sometimes gathered into a terminal or axillary panicle by reduction of subtending leaves. Male flowers: stamens 6, 3 sometimes reduced to staminodes or absent. Female spikes 3.5--10 cm, few flowered. Female flowers: staminodes 3, 6, or absent. Capsule 3-winged, dehiscent apically at maturity. Seeds with a membranous wing .

More than 600 species: widely distributed in tropical and temperate regions ; 52 species (21 endemic, two introduced ) in China.

Dioscorea is a genus of great economic value, including important food plants. Several species are widely cultivated in many cultivars (including Dioscorea alata D. esculenta D. japonica and D. polystachya), while other, wild species are valuable famine foods. Other species are sources of drugs both in traditional Chinese and Western medicine (notably D. nipponica and D. zingiberensis which are major sources of steroid precursors) .[2]

Physical Description

Species Dioscorea bulbifera

Plants tuberous or not; tubers, when present, buried just below ground surface, not stalked , globose , weighing less than 1 kg . Stems twining counter-clockwise, climbing to more than 20 m , often flecked with purple, unwinged or rarely narrowly winged , terete , producing axillary bulbils frequently greater than 5 cm in diam. in leaf axils . Leaves alternate throughout, 5-25 × 5-26 cm; petiole usually somewhat shorter than blade , base clasping , basal lobes stipulelike, 1-4 mm wide; blade 5-11-veined, broadly ovate-cordate, glabrous , base orbicular, margins entire, apex long-acuminate. Staminate inflorescences axillary, borne singly, spicate or paniculate , cymose , to 70 cm; cymes reduced to 1 sessile bracteolate flower, internodes ca. 2 mm; secondary axes to 6 per node, fasciculate, subtended by deltate bracteoles or sometimes leafy bracts, 3-20 cm. Pistillate inflorescences borne singly or fasciculate, to 6 per axil, spicate; spikes bearing to 50 flowers, 6-40 cm, subopposite to 8 mm apart. Staminate flowers fragrant; perianth white, becoming purple; tepals in 2 similar whorls, spreading at anthesis , lanceolate, (1-) 2-5 mm; fertile stamens 6 in 2 equal whorls; anthers as long as or longer than filaments ; thecae distinct , not spreading. Pistillate flowers: perianth greenish white, not changing color; tepals as in staminate flowers; staminodes 6, smaller than fertile stamens. Capsules not reflexed at maturity, longer than wide, 1.8-2.8 × 1-1.5 cm. Seeds unilaterally winged, 12-20 mm. 2n = 80, 100. Flowering late summer--early fall . [source]

Dioscorea bulbifera is the most widely distributed of all Dioscorea species. It is found throughout the tropics and is thought to be native to both Africa and Asia. The tubers are either small and bitter or do not form at all. The bulbils are eaten, although this species is not widely consumed outside of Oceania. It is weedy in Florida and probably elsewhere in the Gulf States, but I have not seen any specimens to document its range outside Florida. Plants in the flora area rarely flower, and those that do are usually pistillate; I observed no staminate flowers. [source]

Habit: Vine , Forb/herb

Flowers: Bloom Period: October, November. • Flower Color: green, pale green

Size/Age/Growth

Size: over 40' tall.

Habitat

Near ponds , marshes, drainage canals, disturbed woods and thickets, waste areas; 0 m. [source]

Biology

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Reproduction

Duration: Perennial

Growth

Culture: Space 3-6" apart.

Soil: Minimum pH: 5.6 • Maximum pH: 7.5

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full Sun .

Moisture: Drought Tolerance: High

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b, 11. (map)

Taxonomy

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Notes

Publishing author : L. Publication : Species Plantarum 1753 (1 May 1753)

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Dioscorea

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 47 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

D. alata (Purple Yam) · D. altissima (Dunguey) · D. bulbifera (Aerial Yam) · D. bulbifera var. bulbifera (Air Potato) · D. cayenensis (Yellow Guinea Yam) · D. cayennensis (Yellow Guinea Yam) · D. cirrhosa (Dyeing Yam (Philippines)) · D. communis (Lady´s-Seal) · D. composita (Yam) · D. convolvulacea (Yam) · D. cylindrica (Wild Yam) · D. deltoidea (Wild Yam) · D. discolor (Ornamental Yam) · D. dumetorum (Bitter Yam) · D. elephantipes (Elephants Foot) · D. esculenta (Chinese Yam) · D. floribunda (Yam) · D. floridana (Florida Yam) · D. glabra (Chinese Yam) · D. hemicrypta (Dioscorea) · D. hispida (Intoxicating Yam) · D. japonica (Glutinous Yam) · D. kamoonensis (Kamoon Yam) · D. macrostachya (Yam) · D. macrostachys (Elephants Foot) · D. mexicana (Barbasco) · D. nummularia (Yam) · D. oppositifolia (Chinese Wild Yam) · D. pentaphylla (Five-Leaf Yam) · D. pilosiuscula (Bulbous Yam) · D. polygonoides (Mata Gallina) · D. praehensilis (Bush Yam) · D. prazeri (Wild Yam) · D. preussii (Preuss' Dioscorea) · D. purpurea (Podicherry Sweet Potato) · D. quaternata (Fourleaf Wild-Yam) · D. rotundata (Guinea Yam) · D. sagittata (Five-Leaved Yam) · D. sagittifolia (Wild Congo Yam) · D. sansibarensis (Zanzibar Yam) · D. septemloba (Seven-Lobed Yam) · D. spiculiflora (Yam) · D. sylvatica (Wild Yam) · D. tokoro (Mountain Yam) · D. tomentosa (Thorny Yam) · D. trifida (Indian Yam) · D. villosa (Colic Root)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 13, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Chih-chi Ting & Michael G. Gilbert "Dioscoreaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 24 Page 276. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  2. "Dioscorea". in Flora of China Vol. 24 Page 276. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
Last Revised: 7/14/2012