Dioscorea cayenensis
Lam.
Yellow Guinea yam
Howard, W.; Lowe, E. J. (via Wikimedia Commons)
Tomwsulcer (via Wikimedia Commons)
Guillaume Léotard
(c) Martin Reith, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
(c) Martin Reith, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
(c) Martin Reith, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Tubers, Root, Vegetable
The roots are cooked and eaten as a vegetable in various ways. They have a palatable, dry, mealy flesh and can reach up to 3kg in weight, with a rough outer skin and pale yellow flesh. They are sometimes dried and milled into a flour for storage, which is then stirred into boiling water and kneaded into a paste. The roots can contain up to 91% carbohydrate — the highest of any yam — with a relatively low protein content of around 2.5%. A tea can be made from the leaves.
Known Hazards
Where to Find It
A tropical plant. It occurs in the forest zones. It is less tolerant of drought than the White Guinea Yam. It does not grow where there is a long dry season.
Africa, Antilles, Benin, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Central Africa, Central America, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Dominican Republic, East Africa, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guiana, Guianas, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Madagascar, Mali, New Caledonia, Nigeria, Pacific, Panama, Puerto Rico, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South America, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Suriname, Togo, Trinidad, Uganda, Vanuatu, Venezuela, West Africa, West Indies, Zambia,
How to Identify
A yam with a spiny vine. There are more spines near the base. The stem can be 10-12 m long. Plants twine to the right-hand. The leaves are pale green and heart shaped near the base. They are 8-10 cm long by 3-6 cm wide. They are rather leathery. The leaves are shiny on the top surface. There are 7 veins or nerves running out from the base of the leaf. They can be produced opposite each other or one after another along the stem. The flowers occur either singly or in pairs in the axils of leaves. The tubers are large and yellow fleshed. The head of the tuber is hard and woody. There are many different cultivated varieties.
How to Grow
Tubers do not become dormant when they are mature. They cannot therefore be stored for long times and must be eaten or replanted. The tubers can be removed leaving the top part in the ground and another crop of tubers will be produced meaning it can be harvested throughout the year. Most commonly the head of the tuber is used for replanting. The tuber can be cut into setts and the different parts used. A spacing of 1.2 m between plants is considered suitable. Tubers are often planted in fairly wide deep holes.
Propagation: Seed is rarely produced and not normally used for propagation. Tuber cuttings are the standard method: small tubers are cut into 2–4 sections and larger ones into 6–8 sections, each with 2–3 dormant buds. Cut tubers are often left in the sun for several hours to encourage wound healing and reduce fungal infection risk.
Medicinal Uses
None known.
Other Uses
None known. Grown in food forest systems.
Production
Growth of the yam is almost continuous. It takes almost 12 months to reach maturity. In areas of good rainfall it gives good yields. Tubers can weigh between 2 and 10 kg. Yields of 30 t per ha are achievable.
Other Information
It is a commercially cultivated vegetable. Important in West Africa and now in some places in the West Indies.
Notes
There are about 650 species of Dioscorea.
Names & Synonyms
Affoo, Affou, Affun yam, Atous temps, Attoto yam, Ayu, Balugu, Cara de Para, Congo amarillo, Cut and come again yam, Dye yam, Egera, Endale, Fusaka, Hard yam, Haya, Lagos yam, Luliga, Mapuey morado, Mulugu, Name amarillo, Name chomo, Name negro, Ndoo, Negro yam, Niame, Ovihazo, Twelve months yam, Yellow yam
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