Dioscorea altissima

Lam.

Dunguey

DioscoreaceaeRoots

Wikipedia · cc-by-sa
Wikimedia Commons - Taminier_Sceau_Notre-Dame_-_Dioscorea_altissima_-_N19_w1150_(10559129083).jpg

iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) Kurt Miller, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) David Horcajada Tejero, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

What to Eat

Edible parts: Tuber, Root

The tubers are cooked and eaten.

Where to Find It

A tropical plant. It grows in moist forest. It has been recorded growing up to 2,200 m above sea level.

Bolivia, Brazil, Caribbean, Central America, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guianas, Guyana, Hispaniola, Honduras, Lesser Antilles, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, South America, St Lucia, Suriname, Tobago, Venezuela, West Indies,

Countries: Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Bahamas, Belize, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Grenada, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Haiti, Jamaica, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Paraguay, Suriname, El Salvador, Trinidad & Tobago, Uruguay, St Vincent, Venezuela

How to Identify

A yam. It is a climbing plant with stems up to 10 m long. The stems are spiny with spines that curve back and are 1 cm long. The stems are angular and 1.5 cm across. The leaves are alternate. The leaves are large and oval but heart shaped at the base. They are 8-15 cm long by 7-16 cm wide. The edges are slightly wavy. They are shiny on the upper surface and dull underneath. It has a large tuberous rootstock. The flowers are in a simple spike. The fruit is a capsule 3 cm long.

Medicinal Uses

Used traditionally (FPI).

Wikipedia

Source ↗

Dioscorea altissima is a herbaceous vine in the genus Dioscorea that is indigenous to forested areas of Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Central America north to Panama, and the Caribbean. Its tubers are foraged and cooked for human consumption, and they are also cultivated in Brazil on a small scale. This species has been introduced to Puerto Rico.

Other Information

It is cultivated in some places.

Notes

There are about 650 species of Dioscorea.

Names & Synonyms

Dioscorea balsapuertensis R. KnuthDioscorea calcarea R. KnuthDioscorea chondrocarpa Griseb.Dioscorea hoehneana R. KnuthDioscorea maranonensis R. KnuthDioscorea nitida R. KnuthDioscorea poeppigii KunthDioscorea rajanioides Uline ex R. KnuthDioscorea revillae AyalaDioscorea riparia Kunth & R. H. Schomb.Dioscorea samydea Griseb.Dioscorea samydea var. corcovadensis Uline ex R. KnuthDioscorea samydea var. poeppigii (Kunth) Ayala

References (3)

Bortolotto, I. M., et al, 2018, Lista preliminar das plantas alimenticias nativas de Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil. Iheringia, Serie Botanica, Porto Alegre, 73 (supl.):101-116
Chu, E. P., Figueiredo-Ribeiro, R. C. L., 1991, Native and Exotic Species of Dioscorea Used as Food In Brazil. Economic Botany, Vol. 45, No. 4, pp. 467-479
Fern, K., 2012, Tropical Species Database http://theferns.info/tropical/