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Dioscorea esculenta

Authority (Lour.) Burkill Family Liliopsida:Liliidae:Dioscoreales:Dioscoreaceae Synonyms Dioscorea aculeata L. Common names ami, fancy yam, igname, inhame de comer, inhame de enxerto, inhame taioba, kawai, lesser asiatic yam, lesser yam, potato yam, ufilei Editor Ecocrop code 939

Notes
BRIEF DESCRIPTION A herbaceous, spiny vine reaching a length of up to 3 m, often with purple colouration at the base. The leaves are smooth, up to 12 cm long and 15 cm wide. Flowers are rarely formed. The tubers are oval, up to 20 cm long and 6-8 cm in diameter, and each plant may produce 5-20 tubers. The flesh is yellow or white and the average tuber weight may be 0.25-1 kg. USES The tubers are cooked as a vegetable. GROWING PERIOD Perennial. Cultivated tubers reach maturity in 200-365 days, while wild tubers may require 2-20 years. COMMON NAMES Lesser yam, Asiatic yam, Potato yam, Chinese yam, Lesser asiatic yam, Igname des blancs, Kangar, Karen potato, Potato yam, Sasniali, Sathni, Silakandom, Kodi, Ubi torak, Apali, Tongo, Trident yam, Tugi, Tugue, Tungo, Taitu, Taitukava, Ufi lei, Diba, Hausa potato, Name asiatica, Name azucar, Name chino, Name papa, Name pequeno. FURTHER INF Scientific synonyms: D. aculeata, D. fasciculata, D. sativa, Onchus esculentus. Lesser yam is indigenous to South-East Asia. Latitudinal range is 23°N to 20°S. Optimum growth is obtained from plants grown in hot climates, and yields from plants grown at elevations up to 500 or even 900 m are generally good. Tubers have a short period of dormancy and do not store well. Yields up to 25-35 t/ha have been recorded, in West Africa average yields are 7-20 t/ha. Mentioned as a useful agroforestry species.
Sources
SOURCES (D. esculenta (Lour.) Burk.) King G 1986 [RAIN, TEMP, LIG, DEP, DRA, PH, SAL, TEXT, FER] Tindall H 1983 pp 201-202 & 213-215 [TEMP, RAIN, PHO, TEXT, FER, USE] Eswaran H 1986 pp 87 Hackett C 1982 pp 207 [FER, PHO, DEP, PH, TEXT, TEMP] Onwueme I 1991 pp 250-266 [TEMP, RAIN, PHO, LIG, FER, TEXT] Rice R 1990 pp 282-283 [DRA, FER, RAIN]