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Balkan Yam

Dioscorea balcanica

Balkan Yam
Photo: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0

Balkan yam is a rare, climbing perennial yam native to the mountains of the Balkans, where it is an endangered relict species. It is seldom grown in gardens, and its care is poorly documented, so grow it as a hardy climber with a tuberous rootstock.

Family
Dioscoreaceae (Dioscore family)
Grows as
Perennial
Light
Part shade
Water
Water moderately during the growing season and let the top of the soil dry a little between waterings.
Soil
Well-drained, fertile, moist loam or humus-rich soil.
Temperature
Hardy to cold winters; protect the tuber from hard freezing, below about -10 °C.
How easy
Moderate
Native range
Montenegro to N. Albania
Climate
temperate

About

Dioscorea balcanica, the Balkan yam, is a herbaceous perennial in the family Dioscoreaceae.

Where it grows

Dioscorea balcanica is native to the Balkans, in Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Albania. It is a relict species and the only wild Dioscorea species found on the Balkan Peninsula where it is endemic. It is considered an endangered species and has been placed under protection.

Other Dioscorea plants

Dioscorea abysmophila · Dioscorea abyssinica · Dioscorea acanthogene · Dioscorea acuminata · Dioscorea aesculifolia · Dioscorea aguilarii · Water yam · Dioscorea alatipes · Dioscorea althaeoides · Dioscorea amaranthoides · Dioscorea amazonum · Dioscorea analalavensis

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Dioscorea balcanica by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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