Dioscorea belophylla

(Prain) Voigt. ex Haines

Spear-leaved yam, Tarur

DioscoreaceaeRoots

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(c) Shiwalee Samant, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Shiwalee Samant

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(c) Phub Gyeltshen, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

What to Eat

Edible parts: Tubers, Root

The tubers are eaten after repeated boiling, washing, and baking in small pieces to remove bitterness, though they are also recorded as being eaten raw. The tubers are popular and sold in markets.

Where to Find It

A tropical plant. In Pakistan it grows in the foothills and up to 1,400 m altitude.

Asia, Bhutan, Himalayas, India, Nepal, Northeastern India, NW India, Pakistan, Sikkim,

Countries: United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Brunei, Bhutan, China, Georgia, Indonesia, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Mongolia, Maldives, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Philippines, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Syria, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen

How to Identify

A yam. It has small tubers. The stems twine anticlockwise. The leaves are usually opposite and simple. They are 8-13 cm long and 2-9 cm wide. They vary in shape. The leaf stalk is 6.5 cm long. The male flower spikes are 3-4 cm long and occur as 1 or 2 together in the axils of leaves. The female flower spikes are 6-12 cm long and often occur singly. The fruit capsules are 3 cm long and 3 cm wide.

Medicinal Uses

The bitterness is removed when boiled with ash.

Other Information

The tubers are popular and sold in markets.

Notes

There are about 650 species of Dioscorea.

Names & Synonyms

Ban goi, Ban tarul, BHat kanda, Duru kanda, Eghen tabon, Hra-kai, Huvi, Jangli matol, Kandar, Kaniha kand, Karu-kand, Kadu-karand, Nand-kand, Navane genasu, Pete sanga, Ruiding, Taid, Tarar, Tarar bail, Tor, Tori, Tunga-alu, Turad, Turkhur, Zamin-kand

Dioscorea glabra auct. non Roxb.Dioscorea nummularia var. belophylla Prain

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Wild edible plants of Himachal Pradesh