Dioscorea elegans Ridl. ex Prain & Burkill

Species

Angiosperms > Dioscoreales > Dioscoreaceae > Dioscorea

Characteristics

Underground parts unknown. Plant glabrous. Stem in the upper parts unarmed, terete. Bulbils none seen. Leaves (at least in the distal parts of the stem) alternate, lanceolate or lanceolate-ovate, acuminate, rounded or just cordiform at the base, 9 by 2 cm, 5-nerved or obscurely 7-nerved; upper surface shining and smooth; petiole short, not exceeding ¾ the length of the lamina. Male flowering axes 2-3 together in the axils of the upper leaves, to 7 cm long with 30-40 flowers spaced about their own diameter apart. Buds ovoid, 1 mm long. Female flowering axes solitary, rather slender, to 30 cm long, conspicuously ridged, with capsules so spaced as scarcely to imbricate. Capsules subtruncate above, more or less rounded below; wings 20 by 15 mm; stipe 3 mm long.
More
A yam. It has an underground rootstock or tuber. It produces twining annual stems.
Life form
Growth form herb
Growth support -
Foliage retention -
Sexuality dioecy
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) -
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color -
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

It is a tropical plant.
More
Not known
Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) -

Usage

The tubers are cooked and eaten.
Uses food medicinal
Edible tubers
Therapeutic use Piscicide (unspecified), Poison (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by seedlings.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) 21 - 36
Germination temperacture (C°) 21 - 23
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Distribution

Dioscorea elegans world distribution map, present in Kenya, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:317933-1
WFO ID wfo-0000390549
COL ID 36CM4
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Dioscorea papuana Dioscorea elegans