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Dioscorea alata

(Purple Yam, Ube, Ubi, Violet Yam, Water Yam, White Yam, Winged Yam, Winged Yam Dioscorea Alata)

Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Bengali:

Bengo Nari, Chupri Alu, Kham Alu

Common Names in Burmese:

Myauk Uu Ni, Taw Myauk Uu

Common Names in Chinese:

Da Shu, Shen Shu

Common Names in English:

Greater Yam, Guyana Arrowroot, Name-De-Agua, Purple Yam, Ten-Month Yam, Ten-Months Yam, Ube, Ubi, Violet Yam, Water Yam, White Manila Yam, White Yam, Winged Yam, Winged Yam Dioscorea Alata, Yam

Common Names in French:

Grande Igname, Igname Ailée, Igname De Chine

Common Names in German:

Geflügelter Yam, Wasser Yamswurzel, Wasseryam

Common Names in Hindi:

खमालू, जुपरी आलू, Chupri Alu, Khamalu

Common Names in Japanese:

Daijo, Daijyo

Common Names in Kannada:

Tuna Genasu

Common Names in Laotian:

Houo

Common Names in Nepalese:

Ghara Tarul, Kukur Tarul

Common Names in Oriya:

Kambo Alu

Common Names in Portuguese:

Inhame, Inhame Da India

Common Names in Russian:

Dioscoreia Krylataia, Dioskoreia Alata, Iams Belyi, Iams Krylatyi

Common Names in Sanskrit:

Alukam

Common Names in Spanish:

ñame Blanco, ñame De Agua, Tabena

Common Names in Tamil:

Mullu Valli, Perumvalii Kilangu, Peruvalli, Yams Kallu

Common Names in Telugu:

Dukka Pendalam, Gunapendalamu, Niluva Pendalum, Niluvapendalamu, Niluvu Pendalam

Common Names in Thai:

Man Bak Hep (Don Daeng), Man Liam (Northern Thailand), Man Sao (Central Thailand), Noi (Chiang Mai)

Common Names in Vietnamese:

Khoai Long, Khoai Ngà, Khoai Tía, Khoai Trút

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.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.

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) ."Dioscorea". in Flora of China Vol. 24 Page 276. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org.

Physical Description

Species Dioscorea alata

Plants tuberous ; tubers 1-many, stalked and ± deeply buried, elongate (highly polymorphic ), often massive, weighing up to several kg , flesh starchy, white or variously colored . Stems twining clockwise , climbing up to 20 m , broadly winged , 4-angular, producing bulbils up to 4 cm in diam. in leaf axils , wings often purplish. Leaves alternate proximally, opposite and ultimately decussate distally, 6-16 × 4-13 cm; petiole ca. as long as blade , winged, base clasping , basal lobes stipulate , growing as extensions of wings, less than 1 mm wide; blade 5-7-veined, ovate , glabrous , base typically sagittate , margins entire , apex acute to acuminate. Staminate inflorescences axillary , 1-2 per axil, paniculate , fasciculate; panicles bearing flowers singly, bracteolate , in a zigzag pattern along rachis, internodes less than 2 mm; rachis to 25 cm, secondary axes 1-3(-6), fasciculate, less than 3 cm, each subtended by deltate-ovate bracteole shorter than 1 mm. Pistillate inflorescences solitary, 4-8(-20) -flowered, 6-35 cm, internodes ca. 1 cm. Staminate flowers : perianth whitish, cup-shaped; tepals ca. 1 mm, connate at base in 2 subequal whorls, outer widely ovate, inner narrower, apex obtuse to rounded in both; fertile stamens 6 in 2 equal whorls; anthers longer than filaments , thecae distinct , not spreading . Pistillate flowers: perianth lightly colored; tepals broadly ovate, ca. 1 mm, fleshy ; staminodes 6, smaller than fertile stamens. Capsules not reflexed at maturity, broadly ovate, ca. 2 × 3.5 cm. Seeds winged all around. 2n = 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80. Flowering late summer; fruiting into late fall . [source]

Dioscorea alata is the most extensively cultivated of the edible yams. There are hundreds of cultivars worldwide (L. Degras 1993; D. G. Coursey 1967), varying in the color and consistency of the flesh. The bulbils may also be eaten, but the large tubers are favored. Typically the plants are propagated vegetatively. The species is not known to exist in the wild, and its putative origin is from Southeast Asia. It has escaped from cultivation in the southeastern United States, recorded here from Florida and Georgia, although it is likely to be found elsewhere in the Gulf states. The plants seldom flower in the flora area; I observed no staminate flowers at all, and very few pistillate ones. Although the fruits do set seed, the seeds are frequently unviable. [source]

Habit: Vine , Forb/herb

Flowers: Bloom Period: July. • Flower Color: inconspicuous, none

Size/Age/Growth

Size: 30-40' tall.

Habitat

Near ponds , marshes, drainage canals, waste areas; 0 m (Ref. 99304).

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 4,028 meters (0 to 13,215 feet).Mean = 249.150 meters (817.421 feet), Standard Deviation = 993.410 based on 155 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre.

Biology

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Reproduction

Duration: Perennial

Growth

Culture: Space 12-15" apart.

Soil: Minimum pH: 6.1 • Maximum pH: 7.8

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full Sun .

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

Taxonomy

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Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: Berger P.H., Adams M .J., Barnett O.W., Brunt A.A., Hammond J., Hill J.H., Jordan R.L., Kashiwazaki S., Rybicki E., Spence N., Stenger D.C., Ohki S.T., Uyeda I., van Zaayen A., Valkonen J., Vetten H.J., 01-Oct-2005

Place of publication : Sp. pl. 2:1033. 1753

Name verified on 12-May-1995 by ARS Systematic Botanists. Last updated: 12-May-1995

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Dioscorea

There are approximately 944 species in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

D. abysmophila · D. abyssinica · D. acanthogene · D. acarophyta · D. acerifolia · D. acrotheca · D. aculeata · D. acuminata · D. acutangula · D. acutata · D. acutifolia · D. adenantha · D. adenocarpa · D. aesculifolia · D. affinis · D. aguilarii · D. ainensis · D. alata (Purple Yam) · D. alatipes · D. albanica · D. albicaulis · D. albinervia · D. alboholosericea · D. alta · D. althaeoides · D. altissima (Dunguey) · D. amaranthifolia · D. amaranthoides · D. amaranthoides var. elegantula · D. amarantoides · D. amarantoides var. crumenigera · D. amarantoides var. metallica · D. amazonum · D. amoena · D. analalavensis · D. ancachsensis · D. anchiatasi · D. anchietae · D. anconensis · D. andina · D. andongensis · D. andromedusae · D. angolensis · D. anguina · D. angulata · D. angusta · D. angustiflora · D. angustifolia · D. anomala · D. antaly · D. anthropophagorum · D. antucoana · D. apiculata · D. apurimacensis · D. arachidna · D. araucana · D. arcuata · D. arcuatinervis · D. argyrogyna · D. arifolia · D. aristolochiaefolia · D. aristolochiifolia · D. armata · D. asclepiadea · D. aspera · D. aspersa · D. asperula · D. asteriscus · D. astrostigma · D. atrescens · D. atropurpurea · D. auriculata · D. axilliflora · D. bahiensis · D. baicalensis · D. bako · D. balcanica · D. balsapuertensis · D. bangii · D. banzhuana · D. barclayi · D. bartlettii · D. basiclavicaulis · D. baya · D. beccariana · D. beecheyi · D. belizensis · D. belophylla · D. belophylloides · D. bemandry · D. bemarivensis · D. benthamii · D. berenicea · D. bermejensis · D. bernoulliana · D. berteroana · D. besseriana · D. beyrichii · D. bicolor · D. biformifolia

Bibliography

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More Info

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 12, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

Last Revised: 2008-10-01