Dioscorea alata L.

English: Water Yam, Winged Yam

German: Yam

Mandarin: 参薯 (shen shu)

Portuguese: Inhame-grande

Kingdom: Plantae (2715)

  Phylum: Tracheophyta (2630)

    Class: Liliopsida (397)

      Order: Dioscoreales (13)

        Family: Dioscoreaceae (13)(family description)

          Genus: Dioscorea (11)

            Epithet: alata L. (6)

Synonyms: Dioscorea globosa Roxb., Dioscorea rubella Roxb., Polynome alata (L.) Salisb.

alata => winged, with wings

globosa => ball-like, nearly spherical

rubella => reddish

Climate: tropical

Habitat: mesophytic

Habit: herb

Flower colour: green, yellow, beige, white

Check for Dioscorea alata at

World Flora Online, GBIF or IPNI

• [161] Dioscorea alata Linnaeus - Dioscorea alata in Flora of North America @ efloras.org
• [415] Yams: flowers for new hybrids - INRA
• [1198] Dioscorea - Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database

• [19] IBPGR (1981): Root and Tuber Crops. IBPGR Secretariat, Rome, Italy.