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Some of the English common names of this plant reflect its use in Native American and other traditional medicines. [15] Native Americans in the southeast cultivated this plant. [ 16 ] In traditional Russian herbal medicine, saponin extracts from the roots of various varieties of wild yam are thought to be an anticoagulant , antisclerotic ...
Yam is the common name for some plant species in the genus Dioscorea (family Dioscoreaceae) that form edible tubers (some other species in the genus being toxic). Yams are perennial herbaceous vines native to Africa, Asia, and the Americas and cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in many temperate and tropical regions.
Dioscorea alata – also called ube (/ ˈ uː b ɛ,-b eɪ /), ubi, purple yam, or greater yam, among many other names – is a species of yam (a tuber). The tubers are usually a vivid violet - purple to bright lavender in color (hence the common name), but some range in color from cream to plain white.
Dioscorea cayenensis subsp. rotundata, commonly known as the white yam, West African yam, [1] Guinea yam, or white ñame, is a subspecies [2] of yam native to Africa. It is one of the most important cultivated yams. [3] Kokoro is one of its most important cultivars. It is sometimes treated as separate species from Dioscorea cayenensis. [1]
[8] [irrelevant citation] Wild yams are an important crop, as they have been used to prevent menstrual cramps, stomach cramps, and general pain for centuries. During the 1950s scientists found that the roots of wild yams contained diosgenin which is a plant-based estrogen; diosgenin is hypothesized to aid in chemical defense against herbivores.
Dioscorea polystachya or Chinese yam (simplified Chinese: 山药; traditional Chinese: 山藥), also called cinnamon-vine, [2] is a species of flowering plant in the yam family. It is sometimes called Chinese potato or by its Korean name ma. [3] [2] It is also called huaishan in Mandarin and wàaih sāan in Cantonese.
Dioscorea esculenta, commonly known as the lesser yam, is a yam species native to Island Southeast Asia and introduced to Near Oceania and East Africa by early Austronesian voyagers. It is grown for their edible tubers , though it has smaller tubers than the more widely-cultivated Dioscorea alata and is usually spiny.
Dioscorea dumetorum, also known as the bitter yam, cluster yam, trifoliate yam, or three-leaved yam, [1] is a species of flowering plant in the yam family, Dioscorea. It is native to sub-Saharan Africa and especially common in the tropical regions of West Africa, including Nigeria, Benin, and Ghana. [2] D. dumetorum has both toxic and non-toxic ...