Taxon: Dioscorea alata L.

Summary

Genus:

Dioscorea

Family:

Dioscoreaceae

Nomen number:

14175

Place of publication:

Sp. pl. 2:1033. 1753

Protologue link:

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/359054

Typification:

View in Linnean Typification Project

Verified:

05/12/1995 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

72 (0 active, 0 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Dioscorea rubella Roxb.

No images

Links

Forestry Images – from www.forestryimages.org

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. et al. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78:1-581.
Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
Arnau, G. et al. 2009. Revision of ploidy status of Dioscorea alata L. (Dioscoreaceae) by cytogenetic and microsatellite segregation analysis. Theor. Appl. Genet. 118:1239-1249. Note: it found evidence for diploid (2n=40), and polyploid Dioscorea alata; this study questioned the allotetraploid origin of D. alata
Bhattacharjee, R. et al. 2011. Chapter 4. Dioscorea. In: Kole, C., ed., Wild crop relatives: genomic and breeding resources, industrial crops 71-96.
Burkill, H. M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa. 1:655-657.
Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. 1980-. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon.
Egesi, C. N. et al. 2002. Ploidy analysis in water yam, Dioscorea alata L. germplasm. Euphytica 128:225-230. Note: Netherlands journal of plant breeding
Erhardt, W. et al. 2002. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 17. Auflage
Flach, M. & F. Rumawas, eds. 1996. Plants yielding non-seed carbohydrates. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 9:90.
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
George, A. S., ed. 1980-. Flora of Australia.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
Grierson, A. J. C. & D. J. Long. 1984-. Flora of Bhutan including a record of plants from Sikkim.
Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Hara, H. et al. 1978-1982. An enumeration of the flowering plants of Nepal.
Howard, R. 1979. Flora of the lesser Antilles. 3:506.
Hsu, K.-M. et al. 2013. Molecular phylogeny of Dioscorea (Dioscoreaceae) in East and Southeast Asia. Blumea 58:21-27.
Lebot, V. 2009. Section III. Yams. Chapter 15. Origin and history; Chapter 16. Taxonomy and botany. Crop Prod. Sci. Hort. 183-190; 193-195. Note: it is recognized as the most widely distributed cultivated yam
Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
Mabberley, D. J. 1997. The plant-book: a portable dictionary of the vascular plants, ed. 2
Malapa, R. et al. 2005. Genetic diversity of the greater yam (Dioscorea alata L.) and relatedness to D. nummularia Lam. and D. transversa Br. as revealed with AFLP markers. Genet. Resources Crop Evol. 52:919-929.
Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Nemorin, A. et al. 2012. Inheritance pattern of tetraploid Dioscorea alata and evidence of double reduction using microsatellite marker segregation analysis. Molec. Breed. 30:1657-1667. Note: it finds evidence for autoplyploidization in the origin of polyploid, cultivated Dioscorea alata
Nemorin, A. et al. 2013. Microsatellite and flow cytometry analysis to help understand the origin of Dioscorea alata polyploids. Ann. Bot. (Oxford) 112:811-819. Note: this study found an inheritance pattern that supports autotetraploidy; it also proposed that the origin of Dioscorea alata autotetraploids could occur through unreduced gametes resulting in intermediate triploids
Nkounkou, J. S. 1993. La section Enantiophyllum Uline du genre Dioscorea L. en Afrique Centrale. Belgian J. Bot. 126:45-70.
Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
Price, E. J. et al. 2016. Metabolite profiling of Dioscorea (yam) species reveals undertilised biodiversity and renewable sources for high-value compounds. Sci. Rep. 6:29136. DOI: 10.1038/srep29136. www.nature.com/srep/
Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Siqueira, M. V. B. M. et al. 2014. Distribution, management and diversity of yam local varieties in Brazil: a study on Dioscorea alata L. Brazil. J. Biol. 75:104-113. DOI: 10.1590/1519-6984.08313.
Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed. 1951. Flora malesiana. ser. 1, 4:330-331.
Steyermark, J. A. et al., eds. 1995-. Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana. Note: Missouri Botanical Garden & Timber Press
Uphof, J. C. T. 1968. Dictionary of economic plants, ed. 2.
Vendl, O. et al. 2006. Diosgenin contents and DNA fingerprint screening of various yam (Dioscorea sp.) genotypes. Z. Naturf. 61c:847-855. DOI: 10.1515/znc-2006-11-1213. Note: values of diosgenin obtained by GC-MS analysis represented the sum of diosgenin and yasmogenin expressed in percentage of dry weight
Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
Wilkin, P. 2001. Dioscoreaceae of south-central Africa. Kew Bull. 56:374.
1961. Webster's third new international dictionary.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture Note: food crop

Common names

Language	Name	seq	Citation
English	greater yam	1	Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
English	Guyana arrowroot	1	Mabberley, D. J. 1997. The plant-book: a portable dictionary of the vascular plants, ed. 2
English	ten-months yam	1	Uphof, J. C. T. 1968. Dictionary of economic plants, ed. 2.
English	water yam	1	Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
English	white yam	1	Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
English	winged yam	1	1961. Webster's third new international dictionary.
English	yam	1	Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
French	grande igname	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
French	igname ailée	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
French	igname de Chine	2	Flach, M. & F. Rumawas, eds. 1996. Plants yielding non-seed carbohydrates. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 9:90.
German	geflügelter Yam	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
German	wasser Yamswurzel	2	Erhardt, W. et al. 2002. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 17. Auflage
Portuguese (Brazil)	cará	2	Siqueira, M. V. B. M. et al. 2014. Distribution, management and diversity of yam local varieties in Brazil: a study on Dioscorea alata L. Brazil. J. Biol. 75:104-113. DOI: 10.1590/1519-6984.08313.
Portuguese (Brazil)	cará branco	2	Siqueira, M. V. B. M. et al. 2014. Distribution, management and diversity of yam local varieties in Brazil: a study on Dioscorea alata L. Brazil. J. Biol. 75:104-113. DOI: 10.1590/1519-6984.08313.
Portuguese (Brazil)	cará roxo	2	Siqueira, M. V. B. M. et al. 2014. Distribution, management and diversity of yam local varieties in Brazil: a study on Dioscorea alata L. Brazil. J. Biol. 75:104-113. DOI: 10.1590/1519-6984.08313.
Portuguese (Brazil)	inhame	2	Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Portuguese (Brazil)	inhame branco	2	Siqueira, M. V. B. M. et al. 2014. Distribution, management and diversity of yam local varieties in Brazil: a study on Dioscorea alata L. Brazil. J. Biol. 75:104-113. DOI: 10.1590/1519-6984.08313.
Portuguese (Brazil)	inhame de São Tomé	2	Siqueira, M. V. B. M. et al. 2014. Distribution, management and diversity of yam local varieties in Brazil: a study on Dioscorea alata L. Brazil. J. Biol. 75:104-113. DOI: 10.1590/1519-6984.08313.
Portuguese (Brazil)	inhame roxo	2	Siqueira, M. V. B. M. et al. 2014. Distribution, management and diversity of yam local varieties in Brazil: a study on Dioscorea alata L. Brazil. J. Biol. 75:104-113. DOI: 10.1590/1519-6984.08313.
Spanish	ñame blanco	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanish	ñame de agua	2	Uphof, J. C. T. 1968. Dictionary of economic plants, ed. 2.
Spanish	tabena	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Swedish	storjams	2	Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Taiwan			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Nepal			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Myanmar			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Thailand			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Vietnam			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Borneo			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Indonesia	Jawa		Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Indonesia	Lesser Sunda Islands		Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Indonesia	Sulawesi		Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Indonesia	Sumatera		Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Malaysia			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Philippines			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Papuasia	New Guinea			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
2	Cultivated					widely cult. in the tropics	Bhattacharjee, R. et al. 2011. Chapter 4. Dioscorea. In: Kole, C., ed., Wild crop relatives: genomic and breeding resources, industrial crops 71-96.
4	Naturalized	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Tanzania			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Ethiopia			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Angola			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Malawi			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Mozambique			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zambia			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Benin			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Mali			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Togo			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Cameroon			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Central African Republic			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Democratic Republic of the Congo			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Gabon			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Rwanda			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Africa	Western Indian Ocean	Comoros			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Africa	Western Indian Ocean	Madagascar			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Africa	Western Indian Ocean	Seychelles			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	China	China			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Northern America		Mexico			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Florida		Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Georgia		Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Pacific	Northwestern Pacific	Micronesia			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Pacific	South-Central Pacific	French Polynesia	Society Islands		Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Pacific	South-Central Pacific	Pitcairn			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Pacific	Southwestern Pacific	Fiji			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Pacific	Southwestern Pacific	Niue			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Pacific	Southwestern Pacific	Samoa			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Pacific	Southwestern Pacific	Tonga			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Brazil	Brazil			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Caribbean	Dominican Republic			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Caribbean	Jamaica			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Caribbean	Trinidad and Tobago			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Caribbean	United States	Puerto Rico		Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Central America	Belize			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Central America	Costa Rica			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Central America	El Salvador			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Central America	Guatemala			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Central America	Honduras			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Central America	Nicaragua			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Central America	Panama			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Northern South America	French Guiana			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Northern South America	Guyana			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Northern South America	Suriname			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Northern South America	Venezuela			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Western South America	Colombia			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Western South America	Peru			Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies

Native
Asia-Temperate

EASTERN ASIA: Taiwan

Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India, Nepal
PAPUASIA: New Guinea
INDO-CHINA: Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam
MALESIA: Borneo, Indonesia [Jawa, Lesser Sunda Islands, Sulawesi, Sumatera], Malaysia, Philippines

Cultivated (widely cult. in the tropics)
Naturalized
Africa

NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Ethiopia
EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Tanzania
WEST-CENTRAL TROPICAL AFRICA: Central African Republic, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Rwanda
WEST TROPICAL AFRICA: Benin, Mali, Togo
SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Angola, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia
WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN: Comoros, Madagascar, Seychelles

Asia-Temperate

CHINA: China

Australasia

AUSTRALIA: Australia

Northern America

SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Florida, Georgia]
REGION: Mexico

Pacific

NORTHWESTERN PACIFIC: Micronesia
SOUTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: Pitcairn, French Polynesia [Society Islands]
SOUTHWESTERN PACIFIC: Fiji, Niue, Tonga, Samoa

Southern America

CARIBBEAN: Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, United States [Puerto Rico]
CENTRAL AMERICA: Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador
NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela
BRAZIL: Brazil
WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Colombia, Peru

Reference(s)

Bhattacharjee, R. et al. 2011. Chapter 4. Dioscorea. In: Kole, C., ed., Wild crop relatives: genomic and breeding resources, industrial crops 71-96.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2007. World checklist of Dioscoreales: yams and their allies

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Environmental	ornamental		Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
Human food	starch		Uphof, J. C. T. 1968. Dictionary of economic plants, ed. 2.
Human food	starch		Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
Human food	vegetable	tubers are consumed cooked	Burkill, H. M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa. 1:655-657.
Medicines	folklore		McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Weed			Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=14175. Accessed 15 April 2026.