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Dioscorea bulbifera
Also called Potato yam, Bitter yam, Air Potato, Aerial Yam, Cheeky Yam
Air yam is a fast-growing climbing vine in the yam family, grown for its bulbils and tubers in West Africa and naturalized in many warm regions. It spreads aggressively from bulbils, so containment is the key to growing it responsibly.
Dioscorea bulbifera (commonly known as the air potato, air yam, bitter yam, cheeky yam, potato yam, aerial yam, and parsnip yam) is a species of true yam in the yam family, Dioscoreaceae. It is native to Africa, Asia and northern Australia. It is widely cultivated and has become naturalized in many regions.
Uncultivated forms, such as those found growing wild in Florida, can be poisonous. These varieties contain the steroid diosgenin, which is a principal material used in the manufacture of a number of synthetic steroidal hormones, such as those used in hormonal contraception. There have been claims that even the wild forms are rendered edible after drying and boiling, leading to confusion over actual toxicity.
It is native to Africa, Asia and northern Australia. It is widely cultivated and has become naturalized in many regions (Latin America, the West Indies, the southeastern United States, and various oceanic islands).
Some varieties produce edible tubers and are cultivated as a food crop, especially in West Africa. The tubers of edible varieties often have a bitter taste, which can be removed by boiling. They can then be prepared in the same way as other yams, potatoes, and sweet potatoes.
Dioscorea abyssinica · Water yam · Yellow guinea yam · Black Bryony · Yam · Elephant's Foot · Wild Yam · Elephant's Foot Yam · Lesser yam · Yam · Dioscorea fordii · Intoxicating yam
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Dioscorea bulbifera 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.
